


Lone Defender

by HorrorSkit



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Turmoil, Established Relationship, Heartbreak, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Paladin Adam, Past tragedy, Pining, Protective Adam (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Psychological Torture, Science Fiction, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2019-07-24 11:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 69,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HorrorSkit/pseuds/HorrorSkit
Summary: What if Adam wasn't left behind on Earth? What if he had found out that Shiro crashed on Earth and helped Keith rescue him? How will the story change? What kind of emotional turmoil and challenges will Adam have to face being part of a team he never expected to be on? And how will him and Shiro handle their relationship in the face of a galactic battle that threatens the universe?Voltron AU! inspired by @revolocities.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of what I hope will be a fairly interesting multi-chapter fanfiction. As a character with literally no background or personal details, I find Adam to be a very fun and fascinating character to play with. I'm not just gonna throw him in the story just to be there. I have plans to give him his own character arc and influence those around him. I will not be redoing the entire Voltron series, because that's way too much and I wouldn't be able to finish it. But I am going to take key episodes and important moments to cover in this story, just to show how things change with Adam being there. I hope you will all read this story and enjoy the adventure that I'm planning on writing.  
> I own absolutely nothing, so without further ado, enjoy!

It was late at night as Adam made his way through the living quarters of the Galaxy Garrison. The hallways were dimly lit, indicating that everyone was supposed to be in their dorms for the night. Despite his rank, being out this late at night without authorization could still get Adam in trouble, but that didn’t matter to him. This was something he needed to do, and tonight would be his last chance. Luckily, he was on one of the higher floors, and patrols mainly focused on the first few levels where new recruits and cadets were housed.

As he came upon the correct room, he pressed the doorbell next to it. He waited a moment, looking down the hallway in both directions before pressing it two more times. Adam waited patiently as he heard shuffling behind the door before it finally opened. Shiro stood there on the other side of the door, his eyes weary with sleep and his hair messy and sticking up in places. He was dressed in a pair of light grey sweatpants and a white tank top that hugged his chest.

As he came into view, Adam hung his head in shame and embarrassment, awkwardly crossing one arm over his chest to grab the other before managing to say, “Hi.”

Shiro rubbed the sleep from his eyes, taking in Adam’s reserved state, who was still fully dressed in his garrison uniform, “Adam? It’s the middle of the night,” he said with an inquiring tone, trying to shake the grogginess from being woken up. 

Adam made himself look up at Shiro, his chest tightening up in anticipation. It had been days since they last spoke, and that time away had made it harder for Adam to own up to his feelings. But the distance between them had been even more unbearable. So now he found himself here, trying to confront the lesser of two painful experiences, “I know. I just…. I had to see you.”

Shiro seemed to think for a moment, considering whether or not he should even let Adam in. He took a deep breath before finally sighing and stepping aside, “Come in.”

Adam walked by Shiro into his room, taking his shoes off at the doorway like he usually did when they used to live together. However, in the final weeks before the Kerberos mission launch, Shiro had moved back into his old room. Adam had wanted to savor the time they had left together before he left, but as the inevitable day drew closer, their fights became more frequent and more intense. The blissful final days that Adam wanted to spend with Shiro had instead turned into a painful reminder of the heartache that was waiting for him at the end of it all. Being who he was, Adam couldn’t help but fight against that, hoping that just maybe he could convince Shiro to stay. Unfortunately, that was what also drove him away.

With the launch around the corner, Adam didn’t want to leave things in such a poor state. He had to see Shiro and reconcile with him on some level. If he didn’t, he would probably spend every day regretting it, and Adam had enough regrets as it was. He stood there in the middle of Shiro’s living room, shifting uncomfortably on his feet and unsure of what to say, “So… you’re going to go?” he asked, referencing the mission in question.

“Adam…” Shiro breathed out in annoyance. If this was how this conversation was going to go he would have to ask Adam to leave. He was so tired of the fighting, and that was exactly where this line of questioning was going to end up.

Adam quickly cut back in, “No! I know…. stupid question. I’m just not really sure what to say,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Shiro was a little perplexed by Adam’s current state. He usually had two main settings, emotional mess or sarcastic ass. It was a little jarring sometimes, but Shiro had never really minded. Seeing him act with hesitance now made him question what Adam wanted. Shiro crossed his arms and leaned back against the door, keeping himself composed until he could suss out what was going on, “Why don’t you tell me why you came over here?”

Adam took a deep breath before starting, feeling like he was being put on trial all of a sudden, “After all the fights, arguments, and just bad stuff these past few days….”

“Adam, I don’t want to talk about that stuff anymore,” Shiro sighed in frustration. He was glad to see Adam again after their brief separation, but this is exactly why he wasn’t too keen on inviting him in. 

“And I don’t either!” Adam quickly assured him, afraid that this conversation would end before it even started, “That’s why I’m here. I’m just…. I’m just tired of it all, and I…” Adam shifted and turned his head away, his cheeks turning red, “Can you stop looking at me?!” he pleaded. Adam rarely showcased this kind of emotional vulnerability, and having Shiro’s piercing gaze fixed on him wasn’t helping things.

Shiro saw the way Adam withdrew into himself and walked over to him instead of looking away, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Adam,” he spoke in a soft, reassuring tone. Adam found himself being drawn in to meet his gaze, finding a sympathetic look on Shiro’s face. Shiro could see the timidness in Adam’s hazel brown eyes, and it suddenly became clear why Adam couldn’t look at him. “Why are you here?” he asked once again, this time in a much more soothing voice.

Adam felt much more secure in the wake of Shiro’s comforting presence, making him answer with a brutal honesty that he was usually incapable of around other people, “I just…..want to be with you. Even if you hate me now, I just want to be here with you one more night before you leave. I don’t want you to go feeling like we’ve drifted apart….”

Shiro drew back in slight surprise at Adam’s insinuation that Shiro held any hatred towards him. He pulled Adam in for a hug, feeling him quiver in his arms, “Why would you ever say that? I love you. I always will,” he declared.

Adam choked back a sob, pulling Shiro tighter into him, “Then why are you doing this to me?” he cried.

Shiro felt a rush of guilt come over him. That was a loaded question if he had ever heard one. He knew this was going to be a painful experience, but it was something that was going to happen eventually. It’s the only real comfort Shiro could take out of this whole mess. But to spare Adam’s feelings he merely answered, “Because I need to do this for myself.” If only that was the whole truth of it. 

Adam pushed Shiro away in a fit of anger, his glasses askew and eyes watering from the tears he was holding back, “But we’re in a relationship! You can’t just make decisions for yourself without me or considering my feelings. I need you here!” Adam cried. He stood there waiting for what Shiro would say, hoping that maybe he would offer some kind of comfort. Hoping that just maybe, he could make the pain stop.

“I’m sorry Adam. I did consider you, and I’m so sorry,” Shiro said evenly. Adam felt like he had been punched in the gut. No. Like he had been punched in the gut before that fist tore through his body and ripped out his heart. The offhand way that Shiro basically admitted that he disregarded Adam’s feelings brought his whole world crashing down. Shiro was one of the only people Adam found himself trusting at the garrison, or in a long time really. He never let people in ever since the tragedy that befell him years ago. So to have one of the only people he trusted in years do something so cruel to him, it was absolute agony.

Adam gritted his teeth, tears beginning to flow from his eyes as he furrowed his brow in rage. “You’re such an asshole Takashi!” he sobbed.

Adam was the only person Shiro knew that could get so angry to the point that he started crying. It was kinda cute, but heartbreaking as well. Shiro smiled sadly at him, “I know,” fully aware that this would be the best thing for both of them in the long run. Or at the very least, this would be the best thing for Adam, no matter how much he was hurting right now.

“I meant what I said. If you go on this mission we’re not together anymore! I can’t keep doing this with you. You know what this means to me!” Adam yelled at him, tears continuing to pour down his face. He couldn’t wait for Shiro to come back. Not after everything he had been through. It was just too much to bear, and all too familiar.

“I know,” Shiro said again.

Adam could barely handle it. The casual way Shiro was handling his outburst pissed him off so much. He felt like he was going to boil over. Adam wanted nothing more than to scream in his face and ask him why he insisted on doing this, why he was choosing a space mission over his relationship, despite knowing full well that it would be a betrayal to him. That’s what he wanted to do, but every single question he could possibly ask was a tired argument they had already had multiple times over. And every time Adam couldn’t help but get the sense that Shiro wanted it to end. Not just the arguments, but their whole relationship. And if that was true, this was cruelest way to go about it.

Adam marched over to Shiro and pushed him back against the door, until his back hit it with a slight thud. He punched at Shiro’s chest, over and over again as tears poured down his face. Shiro didn’t struggle, letting Adam take his frustration and anguish out on his body. He didn’t mind. The punches didn’t particularly hurt. Adam just couldn’t quite get a handle on his emotions, and lashing out physically was the only thing he could manage to do right now. He was mentally drained, and the strength of his punches suffered as a result. It was a futile way of trying to make Shiro share the same kind of hurt that he was feeling. Anything to make him stop acting like it was no big deal. Fighting and yelling? Adam could deal with that. But indifference? Somehow that hurt even worse than Shiro leaving him behind to go on this mission.

After a moment Shiro finally stopped Adam by grabbing his arms and holding them firmly in his grip. Adam struggled weakly to break free, his body exhausted from his emotional episode. He collapsed forward, his head falling into Shiro’s chest as his body went limp. Adam cursed out in defeat as he did so, continuing to cry, “You’re an asshole Takashi. I hate you. I hate you so much.”

Shiro wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in the top of Adam’s hair, “No you don’t.”

Adam moaned out a painful sob. It wasn’t fair! How could Shiro always see through him so easily? How could he always tell when he was lying? “I should!” Adam yelled in defiance, “I should hate you for putting me through this,” he sniffled, his glasses fogging up as he pressed his face deeper into Shiro’s chest, refusing to look up at him as he spoke, “But… you’re still my best friend, and I love you. So please just….. just come back okay? Please come back! Because if you die I’m gonna kick your ass!” Even if the heartache was unbearable now, Adam knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it if something bad happened to Shiro. So no matter how much it hurt, he needed to console himself with the knowledge that he would at least make it back for him to still be pissed at. He needed to believe that Shiro would make it back so Adam could scream, tease, and make fun of him for going through with this stupid mission.

Shiro cupped Adam’s face and lifted his head up so he could look him in the eye. Adam’s eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks stained with tears and his glasses foggy and askew. He looked like an absolute mess, and Shiro couldn’t help but think about how cute he looked. He kissed Adam on the forehead, dwelling on the sad fact that leaving him behind was the best thing he could do for him. The love, the tears, all of these were things he couldn’t allow himself to have ever again. 

“I’ll come back. I promise,” Shiro said, straightening Adam’s glasses and brushing away the dried tears on his face. He reached down and grabbed Adam by the hand, leading him away from the doorframe and toward the bedroom, “Come on. Let’s go lay down.”

Adam let himself be pulled into the room, a warm feeling washing over him as he realized that he would get to spend Shiro’s last night on Earth in his embrace. As they entered the room Shiro let go of his hand and climbed into bed. Adam stripped off his garrison uniform, leaving himself in only his dark grey tank top and purple briefs. He took off his glasses too, quickly wiping them clean with the hem of his shirt before setting them on the bedside table. Adam followed Shiro into bed, cuddling up to him and resting his head in the crook between Shiro’s chest and his shoulder. He threw his leg over Shiro’s, wrapping an arm around him to hold him close, and taking comfort in the steady way Shiro’s chest rose and fell with each breath. Adam felt an indescribable peace wash over him, savoring the warmth that Shiro’s presence provided. A warmth that ultimately, he would have to let go of. But for right now, he was here, right next to him. He could feel his breath and hear his heartbeat, and that’s all he needed in the whole world.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna do this without you Takashi,” Adam whispered, feeling himself start to drift off.

Shiro ran his fingers through Adam’s hair, “You’ll be fine. You have our friends on the fight crew, classes to teach, and you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. You’ll be fine without me,” Shiro stilled, tilting his head to rest against Adam’s, “It’d be best for you to put me out of your mind until I come back. After all, I’m a doomed man. I’m not going to be worth much to you in a few years.”

“Don’t say that!” Shiro gasped in surprise as Adam sat up in a flash, grabbing his arms by the wrists and pining them down next to his head. Adam looked like he was going to start crying in anger all over again, a rush of adrenaline fueling his actions, “Don’t you ever talk about yourself like that!” Adam pleaded, a look of anguish gracing his features, “.... Not with those words.”

“Adam,” was all Shiro could manage to say, stunned by Adam’s passionate outburst.

Adam sat there in Shiro’s lap, keeping his hands pinned to the bed as he spoke with brazen honesty, “I know you’re in pain. You’re suffering, but you won’t let me help you. So the last thing I want to hear from you is how worthless you are. You’re the farthest thing from worthless. You’re the most important person in my life, so shouldn’t that count for something!” Adam yelled. Shiro just laid there, unsure of what to say and totally entranced by Adam’s words. “You act like there’s no one around to help you. But I’m here. So why? Why won’t you let me help!?” Adam squeezed Shiro’s wrists tighter, afraid that if he let go of him now he would lose control of the situation. Keeping Shiro pinned like this was the only thing that was keeping him from crying all over again.

As the initial shock of Adam’s actions wore off, Shiro recomposed himself, trying not to let his grief show and saying, “That’s not a burden you should have to bear.”

Adam shook his head, refusing to accept that as an answer, “And you shouldn’t have to shoulder it all on your own! I want to spare you of your pain, and ease your despair. I want to be the one that’s always there for you, even if we’re not together,” Adam squeezed his eyes shut to hold back his tears, holding himself there for a moment before looking Shiro directly in the eye and yelling in his face, “So stop talking like you’re going to fade away without it meaning anything!”

As Adam screamed at him, Shiro looked up at him dumbfounded. Silent tears began to flow from his eyes, the only indication of what he was feeling on the inside. Adam gasped out in surprise, sitting up and letting go of Shiro’s wrists, horrified that he had just made Shiro cry. In all of their time together, he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Shiro cry. It just wasn’t a thing that happened. Shiro was always the composed one when it came to serious emotions. Sure, he could be playful and even a bit of a horndog sometimes. But when it came to something serious, he never gave any indication of what he was really feeling. The only insight into his deeper emotions that Adam ever got was the occasional sad look on his face.

As tears flowed from his eyes, Shiro continued to speak calmly, “I’m so sorry I hurt you. For putting you through all this. My biggest regret is getting involved in your life and forcing you to suffer through all this heartache. If I hadn’t tried to pursue a normal life and be with you, I could have prevented all this pain.”

Adam closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, unable to look at him anymore, “Why do you keep saying such cruel things?” It was hard enough to lay out his emotions on the table like this. And it was even harder to see Shiro actually shed tears over the whole situation. But Shiro kept acting like his own life wasn’t worth the effort. Like his mere existence was a burden that he placed on others. He had no concept for just how much he meant to Adam, and it tore Adam up inside, “I was a stubborn brat when I first came here. I hated every second of this place. But when I met you…. it’s the only time I’ve felt happy in a very long time. You’re the reason I’m still here. You made me stick with it,” Adam admitted.

Shiro finally sat up too, resting a hand on Adam’s waist to get his attention and looking at him with genuine curiosity, “Do I really mean that much to you?”

Adam opened his eyes to look at him, “Yeah,” he nodded, barely able to whisper out his last reply. What he really wanted to say was ‘of course you do dumbass!’, but he didn’t really have the energy for that. This whole experience was so much more emotionally draining than anything he could have ever expected, and it was taking its toll on him. Adam wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t going to cry himself to sleep tonight.

Shiro had stopped crying though, his expression turning to one of joyful sympathy, “That makes me so happy, but It’s not fair to stake your happiness on me alone.”

Adam leaned forward, pulling Shiro in for another hug and hiding his face away in the crook of Shiro’s neck. As he held him tight he mumbled into Shiro’s shoulder, “I don’t know what else to do.”

Shiro wrapped his arms around him, relishing the warmth of Adam’s embrace, “You’re going to be the amazing man I fell in love with, because you don’t need me here to be that man.”

Adam let go of Shiro, leaning back to look at his face while his hands rested at his sides, “I don’t think I can,” he confessed. Shiro was like the sun, burning bright and lighting up the world for all those around him. At least, that’s what he felt like to Adam. How could he possibly go on without him? What was he supposed to do without that one shining light that made everyday at the Garrison worthwhile?

As this thought crossed his mind, Adam realized Shiro was right. He was weighing all his happiness on Shiro alone. But how could he not? He had no family left to speak of, and no friends that he was particularly close to. In fact, that was one of the reasons that Adam joined the Galaxy Garrison in the first place. That, and he had a personal stake in joining as well. A driving force that pushed him to be one of the best, but ultimately wasn’t enough to fulfill him on a personal level. That’s where Shiro came in. Shiro was the only other person who knew why Adam pushed himself so hard, and maybe that was why he came to rely on him so much. He never let others in, but Shiro literally came crashing into his life the day he joined. He was an unstoppable positive force that seemed almost determined to get through to Adam, and like an idiot Adam had to go and fall in love with him. What was he supposed to do without the one person who had literally become his whole world?

Shiro held Adam’s hands in his own, “Well I guess you’re just gonna have to prove yourself wrong then. You like proving people wrong, right?” Shiro asked with a sad smile. Adam had a stubborn personality. One that thrived on proving that he could do things when others told him he couldn’t. While most people thought Adam was a spiteful asshole, Shiro actually admired that quality about him. He never let others tell him what he could and could not do. If someone told him he wasn’t capable of something, Adam would go out and do it just to prove a point. Ironically, it was that quality that inspired Shiro to go out on this mission now. And now here he was, trying to inspire the very same quality in Adam that he knew he was already capable of, “Do that for me,” Shiro asked of him.

Adam could hardly believe it. Shiro always seemed to have wisdom beyond his years, embracing the challenges life threw at him with a clear head and offering advice to those who seemed overwhelmed by their troubles. It was one of the most amazing and frustrating things about him. How could someone like that even be real?

Adam choked out a laugh, “You always know just what to say, don’t you?”

Shiro shook his head, “That’s not true at all. I just stumble through life one day at a time,” he admitted. Shiro put on a brave face every time he was met with a new challenge or obstacle, keeping his fears and doubts locked away on the inside. He didn’t want to burden others with his troubles, so he resigned himself to keep his pain hidden from others. Eventually, it became a habit to do so, and he had ended up keeping his real emotions at bay in everyday life. But every now and then, Adam could pierce through that veil and see the despair that weighed on his soul. And despite that, Adam continued to think the world of Shiro. It confused him, but he never let himself think too much about it. Instead he chose to resign himself to just being happy with Adam, never confronting the reason why he was held in such high regard by someone who could see his deepest flaws.

Adam leaned forward, catching Shiro’s lips in a tender kiss. Shiro kissed back, feeling the dampness of Adam’s tears on his cheeks as he cupped his face. Adam moaned lightly into the kiss, pulling Shiro in tighter. He savored the taste of his lips, knowing that it may very well be the last kiss they ever have.

As they pulled away Adam rested his forehead against Shiro’s. Shiro chuckled lightly, the taste of coffee that had been on Adam’s lips washing over his taste buds. Shiro hated the taste of coffee, but right now, it was the sweetest taste in the whole world. Adam didn’t notice Shiro’s little laugh, or at least he didn’t say anything about it. He merely kept his eyes closed and whispered, “I love you,”

Shiro pulled Adam down with him back into bed, settling back into the position they were in earlier before Adam’s little outburst. Drained and tired, Adam was quickly falling asleep in Shiro’s arms. He clung to him tightly, praying that this night would never end, so that the morning when Shiro had to leave wouldn’t come. He wanted nothing more to live in that dream. And Shiro wished that he could do the same. He wished that he could give Adam the comfort and stability that he needed. That they could spend the rest of their lives in sweet embraces like this one. But that too was a dream. All they could do was try to hang on to the last moments of peaceful serenity they had together. Tomorrow, everything was going to change, and in ways neither of them would ever expect.

Before Adam dozed off completely, Shiro rested his head against the top of Adam’s. As they drifted off into a peaceful sleep, both happy and heartbroken, Shiro said for the very last time, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that wasn't too cheesy! I wanted to convey the emotional turmoil of them being in love, but also their heartbreak to establish where they will be when they reunite. It's a complex relationship that I still have trouble writing sometimes, but I hope you all enjoyed this prologue chapter into the story. Please leave a comment below! I'm a slut for comments and I read them all! They keep me motivated to write more and more! Thank you for reading!  
> Next time we will dive into the meat of the story with Shiro crashing on Earth!


	2. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When news of a inbound spacecraft about to crash on Earth reaches Adam, he must figure out what he is going to do and how far he is willing to go for the chance to see Shiro again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I would like to apologize for taking a month to post my first actual chapter! I took a brief break after I wrote my prologue, but then once I started writing, this chapter turned out to be far more complicated than I expected. I was originally going to do the whole first episode, but I just kept writing and writing and the chapter was way too long! I ended up cutting this chapter in half, then I had to cut it in half again because I didn't want to post a ridiculously long chapter.   
> The good news, is that means the next chapter will be posted much sooner! I only really want to take significant breaks between the seasons.  
> I went over this chapter so many times it started to blur together, and I honestly don't know how good it is anymore. I hope you'll all read it and enjoy it though! As always, I own absolutely nothing.
> 
> Jason and Phillip are OC's that belong to @nuinuichen and @revolocities on twitter, respectively. They are only briefly mentioned in this chapter, but I will be using them alot more in flashbacks and referencing them in conversations. Please check out both artists on their twitters as they post really fantastic works!

Shiro stood at the edge of a rocky cliff, overlooking the sunset as it poured its soft orange glow over the desert. This was one of Shiro’s favorite spots, and he frequented it often. He would ride his hoverbike in this area with Keith and Adam on occasion. He even took cliff dives off it with his bike, much to Adam’s disapproval. There’s was something peaceful and serene about it that spoke to Shiro.

“How are you feeling?” Shiro turned to see Adam walking up to him. Adam was dressed in his Garrison uniform, a look of genuine concern on his face. Ever since Shiro made it back to Earth, Adam had been watching over him with the utmost care. Still, there was something that nagged at Shiro.

“Why did you come after me Adam?” he asked without hesitation, making Adam stop dead in his tracks.

Adam looked generally confused and hurt by his insinuation, “Why would you ask that? I couldn’t just leave you. Even if I am a little upset at you, I would never leave you behind.”

“But you wanted me to go, didn’t you?” Shiro asked, his face becoming stern and his tone accusing. What the hell was up with him? Shiro never placed blame on Adam for that. He wanted to go! It was the center of their arguments and the cause of their break up.

“Are you kidding me?!” Adam yelled, “You know how hard I tried to stop you!”

Shiro shook his head, “You didn’t try to stop me. You just walked away and let me go,” Shiro accused him. The sun set, the dark sky taking over the landscape as Shiro marched toward Adam. He looked him dead in the eyes and said, “You let me die.”

“Wha….No!” What was happening!? What happened to Shiro while he was gone? He was being so cruel and vindictive. This wasn’t the Shiro he knew. It couldn’t be. Adam took a step back, trying to run away from the situation. But Shiro quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and held him there, his fingers digging into Adam’s skin painfully.

Shiro held the same flat expression, tears flowing down his face freely as he spoke, “Why Adam? Was my disease too much of a burden on you? Were you afraid that I’d become weak and frail? That it would make start to hate me?”

“No…” Adam barley breathed out. He could feel tears welling up in his own eyes as Shiro’s words cut right to his heart. It wasn’t true. He didn’t hate Shiro because of his disease. He didn’t. He didn’t!

“Is that why you left me to my fate?” Shiro asked, blood beginning to pour from his forehead, “Is that why you let me share the same fate as…”

“NOOOOO!” Adam screamed, pushing Shiro away until they were both plummeting off the edge of the cliff.

VVVVVVVV

Adam shot straight up in his bed, covered in a layer of sweat. He took a moment to catch his breath, trying to regain his bearings in the wake of such a horrible nightmare. It had been a long time since he had a nightmare like that. After Shiro left on the Kerberos mission, he had the occasional bad dream about Shiro never coming back. After it was announced that Shiro and his team were gone due to piloting error, those nightmares grew more severe. But it had been months since that day, about a year from the moment Shiro took off into space. As time went on, the bad dreams got less severe and less frequent. Adam liked to believe it was a sign he was moving on, but the truth always haunted him in the back of his mind. This nightmare was just a stark reminder that he would never really get over it.

Adam looked over at the empty space in his bed where Shiro used to sleep. He liked to remember the way Shiro’s face would be buried in the pillow, his mouth slightly parted open as he snored and even drooled a little. It was one Adam’s favorite memories because it reminded him that Shiro wasn’t the perfect shining star everyone made him out to be. He had flaws, and was bad at relationships, and he could even be a bit of a ditz sometimes. It was those memories that Adam wanted to hold onto, but it was also why he couldn’t let go. No matter how much he wanted to move on, Adam’s heart was still wanting.

“Even when you disappear, I can’t get away from you,” he whispered, knowing that he would never escape his nightmares.

Adam threw the covers off his body and stood up out of bed. His grey tank top was completely soaked through with sweat. He pulled it over his head and tossed it aside, exposing his torso to the cold night air. The sheen of sweat covering his body made it colder, making him shiver slightly. He walked into the bathroom, turning on the light. He turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on his face before patting it dry with the washcloth hanging by the sink. When he was finished he took in his appearance in the mirror. His hair was clung to his forehead by water and sweat. His eyes looked tired, dark circles forming under his eyes from the stressful dream he had. You still make my life hell, don’t you Takashi? He thought with some irritation.

He sighed before turning off the light and getting back into bed. He decided not to put on another shirt, lest he have another nightmare and soak it through with sweat again. Adam laid in bed, plagued by the memory of his dream. Why would he dream about Shiro now? He wasn’t thinking about him before he went to bed, and there was no significant date coming up to make Adam unconsciously think about him. Adam reached up and fiddled with his necklace, a silver ring tied around his neck by a black nylon cord. He never took it off, and it had become a habit to fidget with it to keep himself calm. It was like a nervous tick, one that he had developed fairly recently.

As he did so, it became easier to clear his thoughts, letting go of whatever had caused him to have such a horrible nightmare and fall back to sleep. Adam closed his eyes, pushing all thoughts of Shiro away. Pushing all the memories away, the happiness, the pain, the love. Adam pushed it all away, hoping that one day he would finally be able to let it all go. But there was always that nagging thought in the back of his mind that if he ever did, then Shiro would really be gone forever. And Adam wasn’t ready to accept that. Horrible as they may be, his nightmares were the only times that he could see Shiro again. Maybe one day, the pain would outweigh the benefits. Adam cleared his head, not wanting to dwell on it anymore, and fell back to sleep. He had no more dreams that night.

VVVVVVVV

After Adam finished teaching his classes, the Garrison was bustling. Not in any noticeable way, but the higher ups were moving about rather quickly, seemingly under some kind of pressure. It was the kind of activity that was only noticeable if you knew what to look out for. Having made his way through the ranks to Lieutenant Commander and squad leader of his own flight team, Adam was one of the few people who would ever notice these things. He decided to make his way to the command center to get an idea of what everyone was so worked up about. 

As he walked into the Garrison’s epicenter, everyone was on high alert. The analysts were working frantically, tracking something on screen. It was a rendering of the Earth’s atmosphere, and it looked like they were monitoring an inbound projectile. He saw Iversom in the upstairs control post, which overlooked the operation, and made his way up to him.

“Iverson, sir, what’s happening?” Adam asked, making a quick salute as he stopped in front of him.

Iverson quickly acknowledged Adam’s presence and explained the current situation, gesturing to the images on the monitor. “We have an unidentified aircraft coming into our atmosphere, and it’s projected to land in the desert near the Garrison. That will allow us to keep the incident confidential for now, but we must be prepared for every eventuality. A team lead by myself will lead a quarantine operation into the desert to secure any assets we may recover.”

“Aircraft…” Adam’s thoughts were suddenly pulled to his dream from the previous night. Him and Shiro, reunited after so long, and standing at the edge of the desert. Adam didn’t believe in things like fate or premonitions, but this aircraft made Adam hesitate. The Kerberos mission was the last space-based venture to take place in the year that Shiro had been gone. And now this mysterious aircraft was going to crash land in the desert near the Garrison? If it was Shiro, that’s exactly where he would try to land, and he was the only pilot Adam knew of that could probably pull it off. It was very likely that this was something else, but there was also a good chance it could be the Kerberos team. It was just too much of a coincidence. Adam quickly turned to Iverson, trying to hide his hopeful disposition under a professional façade, “Sir, is it possible that it could be the Kerberos team?”

Iverson looked at Adam with some skepticism, his brow furrowed, “The Kerberos team disappeared a year ago…”

“And they had three years of supplies to survive out there!” Adam quickly cut in. He already knew what Iverson was going to say, and he didn’t want him to disregard the idea when Adam was just starting to accept it himself, “No one really knows what happened to them. What if they were finally able to make their way back?” The more he thought about it, the more it was sounding like a real possibility, and he couldn’t contain himself.

Iverson seemed to mull over the idea for a moment before finally conceding, “It’s a possibility, but the ship coming into our atmosphere is not one of ours, and it’s not responding to attempts to communicate. It very well could be first contact with alien life.”

Adam felt a little disheartened at the revelation. But the team had been gone for a year, maybe the circumstances of their return had changed, “But if there’s even a chance that it could be a survivor of the Kerberos mission, I want to be part of the team sent to investigate,” Adam pleaded.

“That’s not going to happen,” a stern female voice spoke from behind him. Adam turned around to see an older woman with a cleanly pressed Garrison uniform, her gray hair cut short and tucked under an Admiral cap.

“Admiral Sanda,” Iverson acknowledged. Both him and Adam saluting as they recognized her approach.

Sanda stood firm, her hands held behind her back as she turned her attention to Adam, “You are too close to this mission. Your personal attachment will make you sloppy and endanger those around you.”

Adam was a little surprised. It was no secret that him and Shiro had a relationship prior to the mission, but he didn’t think she would pick up his motivations so quickly. Honestly Adam didn’t really think he was on her radar. But of course it would figure that she would be here, considering how important this event could be for human history. Adam quickly composed himself, putting a lid back on his emotions except for the hint of irritation he let out in his voice, “With all due respect Admiral, I have never been sloppy. I have always maintained my composure and followed protocol regarding every mission I’ve ever been on.”

“And that service is appreciated. But for now, you and your flight team are grounded until further notice,” she spoke coolly, seemingly unfazed by Adam’s words.

“Admiral,” Iverson tried to cut in, finding it a bit excessive to ground Adam’s whole team to the base.

Sanda spoke with more fervor, making it clear that she was putting her foot down, “I will not risk what could very well be first contact on his personal sentiments,” she turned to Adam “You are dismissed.” 

Adam huffed, quickly making his way out of the command center before he lost his cool. As he made his way out, he heard Sanda instruct Iverson to ready his team and prepare a lockdown for when the projectile came within range. Adam wasn’t going to let this go, and hearing they were planning a lockdown gave him an idea. Quarantine protocol required documentation of everything that occurred, which meant they would have a video feed set up for the event. And, if they really did believe this was first contact, they were going to be feeding the footage directly to the command center live. So, all he had to do, was find the right person to talk to.

VVVVVVVV

Adam was making his way into the student barracks as the alarm sounded, which instructed students to remain in their rooms until further notice. He was running out of time. If this was going to work, he was going to need to take advantage of the confusion while everyone was still scrambling about. Adam had the clearance to be out on the floor during the lockdown, but the person he needed didn’t. 

Adam weaved his way through the crowded hallway, maneuvering around the students who were desperate to get back to their rooms, and a couple officers who were ensuring the students were headed back to their quarters. He finally came upon the correct dorm and knocked aggressively, making sure his knocks weren’t mistaken for the students mindlessly banging around the halls.

A young woman answered the door. She had short brown hair, glasses, and a complexion that was slightly darker than his own. She was shorter than Adam too, but not by much. She had a stern face as she answered the door, one that quickly turned into a look of surprise as she realized who was on the other side. He smiled at her, “Hello Veronica.”

“Lieutenant Commander Wright!? What are you doing here sir?” She asked bewildered. Veronica had been one of Adam’s students last year. She was incredibly promising and had a talent to adapt to new information incredibly quickly. It was safe to say that she was brilliant. Adam only had her for one class, but she made a strong impression on him. She was only twenty, but she was definitely going to be one of the Garrison’s best and brightest. Veronica in turn had a desire to impress Adam. She was well aware of his academic reputation, and she wanted to prove herself in his eyes, craving any opportunity to show that she wasn’t the average Garrison cadet.

“I need your help. You’re still one of the most promising analysts and computer experts in the Garrison, right?” Adam asked.

Veronica smiled, “Yes sir. What can I do?”

Adam quickly explained the situation, sneaking her past the officers and out of the barracks after she grabbed her computer bag. Finding their way back into the main compound, Adam led Veronica into an empty computer room. She grabbed her satchel, unpacking her laptop and plugging it into one of the terminals. Adam sealed the door behind them, making sure no one saw them enter so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“I’m not too sure about this sir. This seems like an unnecessary breach of regulations and rank,” Veronica spoke with some skepticism, but not stopping her ministrations. It was apparent that her need to impress Adam outweighed her desire to follow the rules, something Adam was banking on, but she still seemed unsure.

Adam walked over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, leveling with her as he made direct eye contact. She was going out of her way to help him, so he wasn’t about to lie, “It is, but I just have to know. Please Veronica. If there’s any chance that the Kerberos team could be alive…. I have to know. I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

Veronica sighed, seeming to resign herself to the decision before smirking and pointing up at him, “Okay, but you owe me!” Adam dropped his arms from her shoulders and raised his eyebrows, “Uh, sir,” she finished her sentence. Adam chuckled slightly. He almost thought it was a shame he wasn’t an analyst, or that she wasn’t a pilot. Veronica was endearing, in a very funny but also stern kind of way. She followed the rules, but also knew when to relax. She would no doubt fit in quite easily with his small circle of friends.

Veronica quickly got to work on hacking into the video feed of the quarantine team that Iverson was heading. Adam was pretty good with tech, but he wasn’t nearly experienced enough with computers to actual hack the system without getting noticed. Adam was more of a jack of all trades, master of none. He had some experience with computer systems, but he was far better at tech and machinery in terms of electronic applications. 

Veronica worked like clockwork, quickly going through the motions like it was the most natural thing in the world, “Looks like the garrison has a direct link to some surveillance footage of the crash site,” she said.

She pulled up the footage on her laptop. It was clear the team had just arrived at the crash site. The camera was being held by one of the officers, so the quality was a little shaky. Everyone was dressed in hazmat suits, so it was hard to tell who was who. Off to the side some of the soldiers were setting up the quarantine tent, and attaching the wireless surveillance cams to it so they could monitor all activity inside the tent. Adam made a mental note of that. In addition, there were some soldiers with automatic rifles set up in a standard perimeter.

However, what really caught his interest was the two team members that were hauling something out of the cockpit of the crashed ship. It had a strange design based on what Adam could see. The purple and black color scheme wasn’t anything he attributed to any other country or space program, and the wing design didn’t seem efficient for actual flight or navigation. As the two soldiers pulled a body out of the wreckage, Adam felt like the whole world just froze around him, his breath catching.

It was Shiro. It was actually him! This wasn’t a dream. He was right there, just like he had always hoped it would be. Adam quickly noted the ragged clothes he was wearing, and the very apparent white streak in his hair. What the hell happened to him? “Takashi…” Adam couldn’t help but say, instinctively reaching his hand toward the screen as if he could reach through it and touch him one more time.

“Lieutenant?” Veronica’s voice quickly cut through Adam’s daze, his hand snapping back to his side. He cleared his throat as the soldiers hauled Shiro into the quarantine tent, a few others hanging back to examine the aircraft wreckage.

“Thank you, Veronica. You’re a genius,” Adam smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder as a sign of appreciation.

“What are you going to do now?” Veronica said, growing more concerned at the situation, and hoping that Adam wasn’t going to do something brash.

“There’s someone I have to see. Can you send this file to my tablet?” Adam asked, pointing at the footage on her laptop screen.

“Yeah, I can do that easy,” she nodded.

“Great, and thanks again,” Adam made his way toward the door, opening it and taking stock of who was in the hallway. The coast was clear for now.

“No problem sir,” Veronica said, quickly sending the file and then packing up her stuff in her bag. She followed quickly behind Adam, the door sealing behind them as they made their way back to the barracks.

Adam stopped at the elevator since his room was on a higher floor, quickly turning to her and saying, “Now get back to your room before anyone sees you.”

“What about you?” she asked, the apprehension in her voice clear as day.

“Don’t worry about me,” Adam said as he walked into the elevator, “I’ll be just fine,” He winked, trying to show a casual sign of confidence. It was easy to see that Veronica was becoming very stressed at the situation, and he wanted to make sure she felt more comfortable before he left. A flirty wink seemed the most effective method of setting her mind at ease without coming off as too preachy. Veronica was smart enough to know anything else he said would have been a lie. This seemed the simplest method to keep her calm so she wouldn’t feel compelled to tell someone what he was up to.

“Got it,” she answered before the elevator doors closed. She was hoping the blush on her cheeks in response to Adam’s wink didn’t show. As she stealthy made her way back to her room, she whispered to herself, “Way to go Veronica, you just had to go and develop a crush on your gay professor/superior.”

VVVVVVVVV

After Veronica gave him the information he needed, Adam grabbed some quick supplies and clothes, and loaded them into a small duffel bag and his satchel. He also changed out of his Garrison uniform and into his causal clothes. A black long sleeve shirt, dark blue jeans, a dirty brown jacket vest, and some comfortable dark brown combat boots. It made sense to change since he was going to be breaking every Garrison regulation there was. At this point, he was pretty much going to be a deserter by breaking Shiro out, and there is no way either of them would be able to go back after this. Adam took one last look around the room, making sure he had everything he needed. It would be strange to leave all this behind. The Garrison was the only thing he had know for so many years. He wasn’t exactly fond of it, but it was a better option than growing up in an orphanage. He decided not to linger, as time was of the essence, and set out on his own.

It was surprisingly easy to get past the security checkpoints to sneak out of the Garrison. With all the officers focused on either the space crash or keeping the cadets in the barracks, the guard detail at the entrance was incredibly lax. Even an amateur could sneak out. In no time at all, Adam made it to the outdoor garage where the older cadets could keep their personal vehicles in case they ever had the notion to ride into town. Adam pulled the tarp off his hoverbike, hopping on and revving it up. Luckily, the garage was an outdoor facility, so it was empty during the lockdown. He pulled up to the gate and hopped off his bike, breaking in to the control room box and opening the gate.

Before he got back on his bike and sped off into the desert, he hesitated for a moment. Should he be doing this alone? He had friends that could help him. People that he had actually managed to get close to. Jason was a friend from his flight crew that would do anything for him. Adam never understood why he inspired such loyalty from him, but he could always rely on it. Or maybe he could bring Phil, another friend from his flight team, and a fellow academic. He wasn’t exactly fond of Shiro, but he would help if Adam asked him to. Phil was very protective of Adam and was always there to look out for him. Maybe he should be asking them for their help? They would most likely agree, even if it cost them….

No. He couldn’t do that to them. Adam never belonged in the Garrison, but his friends did. He couldn’t take them away from everything they had built. Adam had enough guilt in his life already. He had to do this on his own, and Shiro needed to be his top priority. If it wasn’t for Shiro, Adam never would have been able to make friends with them in the first place, because it was Shiro that allowed him to open up and try to get along with others. His friends may come to resent him for leaving without saying anything, but he didn’t have time to say goodbye. Besides, they would probably try and follow him if he so much as tried to, and he didn’t want to drag them into this. This was for the best. It was slightly ironic considering Shiro left Adam behind to go on a mission, and now he was doing the exact same thing to the people he cared about. Might as well add this to my long list of regrets, he thought.

It wasn’t fair, but he owed Shiro practically everything. There was no other choice for Adam. He got back on his bike and took off, leaving everything and everyone behind, heading towards the only person who could help him now.

VVVVVVVV

Adam speed through the desert wasteland until he came upon the cabin he was looking for. As he pulled to a stop, he stripped off his helmet, staring at the cabin and breathing out a heavy sigh. This was going to an awkward and difficult conversation. Hopefully the footage Veronica sent over to him would be enough to convince him to help.

Adam stepped off his bike and walked up to the front door, knocking loudly.

“Who’s there?” Adam heard someone call from inside. Adam did not respond, instead waiting for someone to answer the door. “Who is it!?” They yelled again, this time with more urgency and irritation.

Adam knocked loudly once again. Fed up with not hearing a reply, Keith swung open the door, pissed off and demanding an answer, “Damn it, who…… Adam,” Keith froze as he saw Adam standing there before him. He was the last person he expected to see, and the last one he wanted to see.

Adam wore a guilt-ridden smile, knowing full well this conversation wasn’t going to go well, “Hey Keith. Sorry bout that. I knew you wouldn’t answer if you knew it was me.”

“With good reason,” Keith said flatly, slamming the door shut in Adams face.

Adam quickly stuck his foot in the door frame, sticking his arm in as well to hold the door open, “Wait! Keith please!” Adam pleaded. Their history was complicated, but he needed Keith’s help if there was any hope of getting to Shiro now. Keith was the only other person with nothing to lose, and he cared about Shiro just as much as he did. After all, he owed Shiro a lot for taking a chance on him. Adam didn’t really understand it, but Shiro saw something in Keith that inspired confidence and trust. And that is a debt Keith would no doubt be willing to repay.

“Go away Adam,” Keith growled, pushing harder against the door as if he was hoping to snap Adam’s arm and leg off. 

“Look Keith, I know you’re still pissed at me. But I, ow, need your help.”

“Why would I help you? You gave up on everything. You gave up on me, and worst of all, you gave up on Shiro. So just go away!” Keith’s words dug into Adam like knives. He carried a lot of regrets, and Keith just laid out most of them in the span of one sentence. Adam had never technically given up on Keith, but he did have his doubts. Everything about Keith’s personality and actions told him that he wouldn’t last. But Shiro had such faith in Keith, he agreed to get along with him. Unfortunately, Keith could see right through him, and quickly realized Adam didn’t believe in him the same way Shiro did.

After Shiro disappeared, Adam feel into a brief depression. During that time, he told Keith about how he tried to get Shiro to stay. That in turn earned him a punch in the face. He was furious at how Adam tried to rob Shiro of his dreams of going to space for his own selfish reasons, and Adam couldn’t really blame him for that. Then he admitted that he really did believe Shiro’s disease caused him to make a pilot error, and that he was never coming back. That earned him another punch in the face.

After that, Keith seemed to self-destruct in his own way, eventually getting himself kicked out of the Garrison. Adam might have been able to help in that situation, but he was so emotionally distressed that he wasn’t really capable of doing anything. There just didn’t seem to be a point in trying. In fact, Adam found himself envious that Keith could get away from the Garrison. For numerous reasons, Adam was trapped there. The circumstances of his past meant the Garrison was the only place he could go, but that’s not how Keith saw it. So he didn’t blame him for hating him. In fact, it was kind of deserved, but right now he needed Keith’s help. So he would just have to get over it for now.

“I’m here because of Shiro!” Adam yelled. Keith stopped pushing against the door, but he didn’t move away either. He just stood there for a moment, his weight resting against the door. He then collected himself and opened the it so he could look at Adam in the face, searching for any hint of a lie. Adam continued speaking, knowing that he had found his way in, “A spaceship crashed in the desert a few minutes ago. The Garrison has him, and we have to get him, now.”

“Why should I believe you?” Keith said, crossing his arms. He wanted nothing more than to believe Shiro was back, but he couldn’t just take Adam’s word for it. There was too much history between them. Keith could usually tell when Adam was being dishonest, but this was too complicated to rely on that alone.

Adam smiled, fishing into his satchel and pulling out his tablet, “I knew you’d be doubtful, so I made sure to grab a copy of this,” Adam opened the file Veronica sent him and paused it on an image of Shiro being carried out of the spaceship, handing it over to Keith to look at. Keith grabbed the tablet and looked at the screen, his eyes growing wide with realization.

“Shiro! What are they doing to him?” Keith asked, his resentment all but forgotten in the face of proof of Shiro’s survival. He quickly became anxious, wanting to learn whatever he could about what was going on. For the first time in a year, Keith finally had hope, and he didn’t care who was bringing it to him.

“They’re putting him in quarantine. I don’t know what happened to him, but breaking him out is the only way we’re going to get any answers,” Adam admitted. “If the Garrison has their way, he’s gonna be locked up for months just to keep it a secret, maybe longer. There’s a good chance neither of us would get to see him again.”

Keith looked back up at Adam, his expression becoming stern again as he handed him back his tablet, “Fine. For Shiro, I’ll help you. What’s the plan?”

Adam though for a moment about the obstacles between them and Shiro, settling on one question, “Do you have any thing we can use to make a distraction?” Keith contemplated the question briefly before smiling and leading Adam inside his cabin.

VVVVVVVV

On a secluded cliff, three Garrison students, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk, sat overlooking the quarantined crash site.

“Man, we'll never get past all of those guards to get a look,” Lance whined. It had been such a hassle to sneak past the guards out of the Garrison. You practically had to be a ninja to get by, and it all led up to nothing.

“Aw, man. Yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?” Hunk asked, his eager desire to return to the Garrison far from subtle. It was actually a shock he came out here with them at all.

Pidge was fiddling around with her computer, quickly grabbing the attention of the other two as she found something, “Wait! They set up a camera in there and I grabbed its feed. Look!”

Hunk and Lance huddled around her, looking at the laptop as it showed footage of the inside. On a table in the center of the tent was a man dressed in ragged clothes, strapped down by his arms and legs. A couple people in hazmat suits were holding him down and looking him over.

“Hey! What are you doing?” The man said, struggling against his restraints.

“Calm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests,” said one of the hazmat soldiers holding a tablet. It sounded like it could have been Iverson, but it was impossible to see who was under the suit.

Shiro continued to struggle, “You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds! Ugghhh! Aliens are coming!” He seemed to be becoming more frantic, struggling against his restraints.

“That's Shiro!” Lance chimed in, “The pilot of the Kerberos Mission! That guy's my hero!”

“Guess he's not dead in space, after all,” Hunk said offhandedly. 

“Where's the rest of the crew?” Pidge asked, trying to sound as casual about it as she could. 

“Do you know how long you've been gone?” Iverson asked.

Shiro took a breath, settling down a bit but still trying to press against his restraints, “I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron!” 

“Voltron!” Pidge yelled out with recognition. The same word she had been picking up for the last few days while studying radio waves and frequencies in space.

“Sir, take a look at this,” one of the hazmat soldiers called for his attention, leaning over Shiro’s right arm. It looked strange somehow, but it was hard to see on camera, “It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic.”

“Put him under until we know what that thing can do,” Iverson ordered.

Shiro instantly became panicked, struggling with all his might to get free, “No. No. No, don't put me under! No! There's no time! Let me go!” Shiro feel silent as they injected him in the side of his neck, putting him under as they observed his condition.

“They didn't ask about the rest of the crew,” Pidge said. Shiro was literally part of the mission she needed to know about. He knew the fate of the other crew members. She had to talk to him!

“What are they doing? The guy’s a legend, they're not even gonna listen to him?” Lance complained. He was more offended that they were disrespecting his personal hero from the Garrison. A little shortsighted in the long run, but he wasn’t aware of the bigger complications surrounding this issue, “We have to get him out.”

“Uh, I hate to be the voice of reason here, always, but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?” Hunk argued. Sneaking out to see a crash site was one thing, but breaking someone out of Garrison custody!? What the hell were they even supposed to do after that? There were way too many things that could go wrong!

“That was before we were properly motivated. We've just got to think,” Lance smiled, eager to engage on a rescue mission for someone he long idolized. No doubt he was coming up with a heroic fantasy in his head right at this very moment.

“Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs,” Pidge suggested, stowing her computer away in her backpack.

“No. What we need is a distraction,” Lance declared.

Almost as if on cue, a loud explosion erupted from the other side of the valley. It had been all the way back toward the direction of the Garrison. Pidge pulled out her binoculars out of her pack and looked over at the source. Just behind the Garrison was a large fenced off area with what looked like generators. It was hard to tell since they were all on fire, but it was an easy guess since the Garrison facility looked like all the lights were shutting down. The guards and hazmat soldiers around the tent clamored, fitting as many people as they could into their vehicles and driving over to investigate. 

“Is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!” Hunk squealed out in a panic.

“No, those explosions were a distraction, for them,” Pidge pointed toward two men sneaking down the hillside behind the tent, making their way around to the entrance. One was dressed in a red and white jacket, and a bandana covering most of his face. The other was wearing a brown jacket vest and a bike helmet with a tinted visor that made it impossible to see who he was, “The Garrison's headed toward the blast, and they’re sneaking in from the other side!”

It was brilliant! Not only would the explosion draw away most of the guards and security from the tent, but setting the blast so close to the Garrison would warrant an immediate response and draw even the required security detail away. Plus, with them knocking out the power to the Garrison, it would be harder for them to organize and figure out what was happening. The perfect window to infiltrate the quarantine.

Lance snatched the binoculars from Pidge and looked down at the two figures standing outside the tent. With sudden realization he spoke up and yelled, “No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!” Lance spoke up with renewed fervor, standing up without even worrying about being seen.

“Who is it?” Pidge asked.

“Keith!”

“Who?”

“Are you sure?” Hunk asked, seeming surprised by the revelation.

“Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!” Lance spoke with utter disdain before tossing Pidge back her binoculars and jumping forward to slide down the hill. Hunk quickly followed, not wanting to get left behind.

Pidge stowed away her binoculars and adjusted her bag, jumping off right behind them, yelling, “Who's Keith? And what about the other guy!?”

VVVVVVVV

The plan had gone off without a hitch so far. Since Keith’s dad was a firefighter, he had a surprising amount of fire extinguishers and other materials at his disposal that were susceptible to explosion under pressure. Placed next to one of the transformers just outside the Garrison was the perfect spot to set up a distraction. Adam was able to create a chemical mixture using various products in Keith’s cabin to make a timed explosive charge. It gave them just enough time to sneak back behind the cliffs overlooking the quarantine tent before the chemicals finally reacted, creating a massive explosion clear across the desert.

Adam and Keith stood at both sides of the entrance, waiting for the cue to go in. Keith wore a red bandana around his face to hide his identity from the camera that Adam had informed him of. Adam wore his bike helmet with the tint visor on for the same reason. The Garrison would probably figure out who they were eventually, but keeping their identities secret would buy them some more time to figure out their next move once they had Shiro.

“Alright, let’s make this short and sweet,” Adam breathed to himself. He nodded at Keith and they both charged in.

“Hey!” they immediately grabbed the attention of one of the hazmat soldiers as they charged inside. There were four in total, so they had to move fast. Adam was the first one in, so he grabbed the one closest to the door by the arm, spinning him around to pin it at his back. The other three soldiers jumped into action. As one of them charged at Adam, he released the guy he was holding and delivered a strong and swift kick to his back, sending him flying forward and knocking both soldiers into the nearby machinery and to the ground. 

The one closest to Keith tried to deliver a right cross at him, which he easily avoided. Keith grabbed his arm and spun on his heel, using the momentum to throw him over his shoulder and to the ground, the impact knocking him out as he landed on his head. The last one holding the tablet seemed to hesitate, knowing that he was outnumbered and outmatched. He charged at Keith first, thinking that it would be easier to take him down considering his smaller build. Then, he might have a chance at taking down Adam in a one-on-one. Unfortunately, Keith was much stronger than he looked. As the soldier charged at him, Keith deflected his punch, driving his fist into his gut and then delivering a swift uppercut that sent him flying back. Adam sometimes wondered if the kid was on something. To deliver a punch so strong that he literally sent a grown man flying back, it was impressive to say the least.

Adam heard a groan behind him. He turned and saw one of the soldiers he had knocked to the ground hadn’t fallen unconscious yet. Adam placed his hand on the bottom corner of the table where Shiro was strapped to, kicking himself off the ground and spinning on his palm to deliver a kick to the soldier’s face. As Adam’s foot made contact with his head, Adam was pretty sure he felt some teeth come loose. The hazmat suits may work for quarantine, but they sure as hell didn’t protect them from anything else. Adam felt a little guilty, but he was at least glad his own team had been grounded, so there was no way he accidently knocked out any of his friends.

Keith grabbed the tablet off the ground and tossed it at the camera strapped to the tent ceiling, shattering both of them. He pulled off his bandana, no longer at risk of being seen. Adam pulled off his helmet too so he could see better. They turned their attention to Shiro, who was still unconscious and strapped to the table. Upon closer examination, Adam could clearly see the metal prosthetic that had replaced his right arm from the bicep down. He could also see the scar that ran across his nose in a straight line. Shiro even looked paler, and a little older too, as if the stress of whatever happened to him caused him to look more mature than he ever had before. Maybe it was what also caused his bangs to turn white. Or maybe it was a side effect of some kind of experiment involving this arm.

“Takashi…. What happened to you?” Adam said, running his hand across Shiro’s cheek, taking in the fine details of his face that he had almost started to forget about.

“Come on, help me carry him,” Keith said, snapping Adam out of it. Keith had already finished pulling the straps off of Shiro’s arm and leg on his side, and was busy pulling off the leg strap on Adam’s side. Adam unstrapped the bind from Shiro’s metal arm, hauling him up so Keith could get under his human arm. As they lifted him off the table, ready to head out, an unexpected voice cut through the silence and caught them off-guard. 

“No, no, no you don’t! I’m saving Shiro!” A young man dressed in casual clothes said, He looked about Keith’s age, but slightly taller. He had a fairly dark complexion like Adam’s, but slightly darker. He was thin, and he carried himself like he was more important than he most likely actually was. 

“Who the hell are you?” Adam asked. This kid didn’t seem to be a threat. He just looked like some random pretty boy that was trying to chime in on the glory. The only problem was, this wasn’t a high school drama class! This was a rescue attempt! And he was wasting their time.

“Talk fast, or I take you out,” Keith warned, as if he was reading Adam’s mind. The longer they stayed here, the greater their chances of getting caught and being hauled off to captivity.

“Who am I?” the boy asked, seemingly bewildered that Keith didn’t recognize him, “Uh, the name’s Lance! We were in the same class in the Garrison.”

Keith looked over at Adam, as if asking for some kind of confirmation from him. Adam just shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t recognize him.”

“Were you an engineer?” Keith asked, turning back to look at Lance.

Lance scoffed, “No, I’m a pilot! We were like rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck,” Lance spoke with enthusiasm, gesturing his hands to get his point across. Wow, this kid really would be good in a play, Adam thought.

“Oh wait, you were the cargo pilot, right?” Keith said, dawning on some faint recognition.

“Well, not anymore. I’m a fighter class now, thanks to you washing out,” Lance spoke both proudly, and with minor disdain.

Wait. Cargo pilot that became….. “Ohhh, you’re that pilot,” Adam said happily. He had heard quite a few stories about Lance and his team, he just never set a face or a name to the stories before. Honestly, they were hilarious enough on their own.

“See! I have a reputation,” Lance said smugly, happy that he was being recognized for something, clearly unaware of what that actually meant.

“Yeah, I heard about how your team puked in the flight simulator,” Adam deadpanned, clarifying the extent of his social image.

Rather than get bummed out, Lance grew defensive, “That was only one person, and it wasn’t me!”

“Guys! They’re coming back, and they do not look happy!” another voice yelled. Two more people came in. A large guy with an orange bandana tied around his forehead, and a young girl with a boyish haircut and style of dress. 

“Whoa! You’re Adam Wright!” the girl spoke up with excitement as she saw his face. It was then Adam realized he left his helmet on the table, so now anyone could see him, “You’re the youngest Garrison officer to become a professor!”

“Wait, Pidge, you know this guy?” The bigger guy asked.

“Yeah, he’s a prodigy. He’s a decorated pilot and an expert medical officer, but his biggest achievements are how he quickly made his way through his academic courses a year early, and he now holds the rank of lieutenant commander! He’s a legend among the academically inclined,” Pidge listed off his rap sheet with expertise. Sure, Adam had achieved quite a few remarkable things, but he didn’t realize he was idolized in a manner similar to Shiro. It caught him by surprise, but pleasantly.

“Lance, was it?” Keith asked, addressing Lance as he pointed at Adam, “THAT is a reputation.”

“Whatever! We don’t have time!” The big guy spoke up once again.

“Right Hunk, let’s go!” Lance agreed.

“Uh, do you guys mind if we catch a ride with you!?” Hunk asked as he held the tent panel open for Adam and Keith as they made their way outside with Shiro. Adam was a little reluctant, but they had already seen Adam and Keith’s faces. Besides, they didn’t seem to mean any harm. They were just kids after all. It would be better to bring them along then to leave them behind to get captured, and possibly spill their guts about what happened here.

They could see the vehicles speeding back toward their direction once they got outside, the headlights and trail of dust signaling their location. Adam and Keith lead the pack around the tent to where they had hidden their hoverbikes for a quick getaway. As they approached their two bikes hidden around the side of the valley, Adam pulled Shiro free from Keith’s grip. Slightly confused, Keith looked at him waiting for whatever he clearly had to say. 

“We need to split up the weight if we’re gonna outrun them. Keith take Lance and the big guy,” Keith looked at the group and the two bikes. He seemed to agree. Evenly distributing the load would be their best chance. Keith and Lance were probably the around same weight, while Hunk was no doubt heavier than all of them. That would leave Pidge with two full grown adult weights. It may have been rough estimation, but it was the best they could do in a pinch. Adam turned to the smallest member of their group, “Pidge, was it? Help me hold Takashi on the bike.”

Pidge followed after Adam as he lifted Shiro up bridal style and sat him down on the center of the bike. Pidge climbed up behind Shiro and held him up as Adam got on in front of both of them. As Adam revved up his engine, Pidge realized that she was basically holding up Shiro while she clung to Adam. 

“Wait, why am I holding this guy?” She asked at the absurdity of their seating position.

“Let’s go!” Keith shouted, speeding off first with Lance and Hunk clinging to his back. Adam followed closely behind, the Garrison hot on their trail.

“Can’t this thing go any faster!?” Lance yelled, seeing the Garrison vehicles following closely behind them. They weren’t firing their weapons, so they thankfully wanted them alive. Still, there was no telling what was going to happen once they got their hands on them.

“We could toss some non-essential weight,” Keith quipped.

“Right!” Lance agreed, looking around the bike for something to throw. Then it dawned on him, “Okay, that was an insult. I get it.”

Adam surveyed their surroundings. With the extra weight they had on now they wouldn’t be able to pick up enough speed to lose them. The plan had been simple enough from the start, but now there were all these extra variables. They needed to reach a terrain that the Garrison wouldn’t be able to follow them on. The fact that they were on hoverbikes and the Garrison was using standard land-based vehicles was an advantage they could use. If this was a tundra, they could just hover over some fragile lakebed ice while the Garrison broke it and fell into the water. But this was the desert, and that meant there was only move they could make.

“Keith!” Adam called out to him, “We need to do a cliff dive if we’re going to lose them!”

Keith smiled, “I thought you disapproved of that kind of thing!?” He shouted back. Shiro was a bit of a daredevil, and so was Keith when it came to flying and riding their bikes. Although, Adam didn’t really like it. He thought Shiro was playing with his life whenever he did dangerous stunts like that, and he was teaching Keith bad habits by showing him how. As a pilot himself, Adam knew how tricky it was to do all the dangerous stunts that they pulled. Adam even went out with Shiro a few times to try it, thinking it would make him more comfortable if he was there with him. It didn’t, but Adam did learn a few tricks.

“Don’t be a smartass! This is what we need to do if we’re going to get away,” Adam yelled.

“Fine, follow my lead!” Keith pulled ahead, veering down a narrow valley to the right, very familiar with the terrain. This was actually a very fortunate route to take. The sloped valleys on both sides would only allow one vehicle through at a time, which meant the Garrison would have to fall in a line to go after them.

“Guys, is that a cliff up ahead?” he heard Hunk yell from in front of them, “You didn’t mean an actual cliff dive, right?”

“Pidge, hang on tight!” Adam yelled back to her.

“Oh no, no, no!” she screamed, seeming to understand what was about to happen.

“Yup!” Adam could see them approaching the end of the valley, where it opened up into a wide terrain and ended in a steep cliff. Adam started calculating the weight on his bike, as he would need to accommodate the shift in order to prevent themselves from crashing and burning.

“You’re going to kill us all!” Lance screamed.

“Just shut up and trust me!” Keith ordered. He had done this cliff dive dozens of time. There was no way he was going to mess it up now.

As they pulled into the open terrain, Pidge yelled up at Adam, “If you kill us, I’m gonna stop idolizing you!”

“Deal!” Adam quipped as he and Keith flew off the edge of the cliff.

“AGGGHHHHHHHHH!” the others screamed as they flew plummeting to the ground. The Garrison vehicles pulled to a sudden stop at the cliff, just barely managing to avoid going over the edge. As Keith and Adam came closer to the ground, they revved their engines, giving them the propulsion to bounce off the desert floor and keep riding. Adam felt Shiro’s head slump against the crook of his neck as they hit the floor, Pidge unable able to hold him steady during the dive. They drove away to Keith’s cabin, Adam finding comfort in the feeling of Shiro’s weight against his back. Shiro was here. Finally, after a year of pain and depression, he was back. But it was a short lived comfort, because now that Shiro was back, Adam would have to decide what he would do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be coming much sooner, so I hope you'll all want to keep reading. Please leave a comment telling me what you thought or which parts you liked. I'm a total slut for comments and I read and appreciate every single one of them!  
> Everyone who has commented so far, thank you so much! Your support is very much appreciated and has inspired me to push myself to write this story to the best of my ability. Next time, how will Adam react when Shiro finally wakes up and they must confront each other once again after a year apart?!


	3. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking from his daze, Shiro warns the others of an impending alien threat and their need to find Voltron. They follow a lead Keith has, leading to a new adventure they never expected. Meanwhile, Adam and Shiro finally talk for the first time in over a year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I suck at updating! I just wrote so damn slow, and I have all these stupid real life responsibiities. Anyway, I hope you all will enjoy this update! Thank you again to everyone who has commented and liked my story, it really means alot!  
> Jason and Phil are character owned by @nuinuichen and @revolocities respectively. I own absolutely nothing!

**1 Year Ago**

Adam sat alone, hunched over the bar counter as he nursed his glass of whiskey. Shiro had been gone for a couple months now, and Adam had taken to drinking at the local town bar. It was a bit of a ways from the Garrison, but it didn’t take long to reach on a hover bike. Adam had started to frequent this place to drown his sorrows when he was overcome by his emotions and guilt.

“Adam,” he heard a man call from behind him.

Adam turned to see who it was, hoping against hope that just maybe Shiro had come back. But that was only false hope inspired by the alcohol clouding his reasoning. Instead, he saw an incredibly tall young man wearing a cadet’s uniform. He had large broad shoulders, and his hair was an orangish-peach color that looked flame red in the dim bar lighting.

“Hey Jason,” Adam greeted before turning back to his drink. Jason Stein Sinclair. He was one of Adam’s best friends at the Garrison, and a member of Adam’s flight squad as well. He was a kind soul, but sometimes he could be too soft for his own good. But that didn’t stop him from being a soldier. He as a determined and dedicated person that always looked out for others and tried to protect the people closest to him. No doubt that was why he was here now.

Jason sat down on the stool next to Adam, his voice full of concern, “Adam, come on. You can’t keep doing this.”

“I’m not hurting anyone,” he declared, taking another swig of his drink. It was technically true. Adam only went out drinking when he had no prior engagements to follow through on. And it’s not like he ever got black-out drunk. He just needed something to take the edge off every now and then. Although, maybe it was becoming a little more frequent than it used to. And not only that, but he had started to blow off his friends to go out drinking these days. He should have figured the others would notice.

“You’re hurting yourself. And that hurts me, and Phil!” Jason insisted, placing his hand over the one Adam had wrapped around his drink, keeping him from taking another swig and forcing him to look Jason in the eye.

Jason’s eyes were pleading, seeing worry in them the second he looked over at him. Adam’s eyes must have looked tired based on the expression Jason made. He noticed that Jason was here alone, even though he mentioned Phil. It was unlike him not to accompany Jason in these kinds of situations.

Phillip Choi was Adam’s other best friend. He was a relatively short compared to Adam and Jason, but he was one of the brightest at the Garrison. Adam had also met Phil through flight training, and he was now also a member of Adam’s squad. However, Phil wasn’t exactly the most physically imposing, as his true strengths were in academics. Which was probably the reason why he was so fiercely loyal to Adam. Unlike some of the other jock types like Shiro and Jason, Adam was the only other one who had a strong hand both in being a flight team member and an academic. Considering that, it was strange that Phil wasn’t here as well trying to pull Adam from his drunken stooper.

“Where is Phil?”

Jason sighed, giving Adam a sense that he was disappointed in him for something, “He’s covering the class you were supposed to be teaching.”

Adam inhaled and buried his face in his hands, “Crap… I completely forgot.”

Jason leaned forward and put his hands on Adam’s shoulders, “I am so sorry about what happened between you and Shiro. But you can’t keep doing this.”

Adam brushed Jason’s hands off of him. He didn’t like to be held or touched in such an intimate way. Not since Shiro. And Jason reminded him so much of Shiro in a lot of ways. He didn’t need to be reminded of what his touch might feel like as well, “There’s so much more you don’t know Jason. So much I can’t tell you.”

“You don’t have to,” Jason resigned to resting a hand on Adam’s knee, noticing the way he flinched away from his touch the first time, “But let us be here for you.”

Adam smiled softly, picking his head up to look his friend in the eye, “You’re a good friend Jason.”

Jason’s lip quivered, his eyes watering at Adam’s honest appreciation. Oh no. Jason lunged forward and pulled Adam into a smothering hug, “You’re a really good friend too!”

Adam laughed lightly, pushing Jason off him and back into his seat before he was smothered, “Why are you the one crying?”

“Sorry, I just love you so much!” He sniveled.

“Okay, come on big guy. You’re gonna start a scene,” Adam grabbed a napkin from the bar counter and handed it to Jason to blow his nose, “Here.”

“Thanks.”

“You can be way too sensitive sometimes,” Adam leaned against the bar counter as he watched his friend clean himself up. To think someone so large and potentially intimidating could be so delicate. It was funny in an ironic sort of way. Jason was easily the strongest of them all, and yet he was also the weakest.

“Yeah. Phil keeps telling me I feel things way too deeply. I guess it’s my flaw,” Jason said, balling up the napkin and tossing it into the trashcan behind the bar.

“No, it’s a good thing,” Adam shook his head, “You know exactly how you feel, and you’re not afraid to express that. And it’s not like you can’t be serious. I’ve seen you during training.”

Jason noticed the way Adam phrased that statement, piquing his interest, “Thanks, but what about you? Don’t you know how you feel?”

“Not always. When Shiro left…. I felt so many things. I couldn’t get a handle on it. And now, I’m not really sure how he felt either,” Adam rested his hand against his heart, his chest feeling heavy under the weight of his guilt, “What if everything I did….. what if it was all a mistake?”

“Well, he’s going to come back in about 3 years. Things will be different then. You’ll have time to grow and change. I think that will give you plenty of time to figure out your feelings,” Jason offered a kind and supportive smile.

Adam scoffed, “Maybe even that’s not long enough…” he quipped, “Still…. I want to talk to him again.”

“Do you know what you want to say?”

“I don’t know. I think maybe…”

“Jason!” Adam was cut off as someone barged into the bar crying out.

They turned to see who was at the door. It was their friend Phillip. He looked desperate and rushed, his glasses were askew and his Garrison uniform was covered in dust. His short black hair also looked frazzled. The desert wind must have caused his disheveled appearance. Most likely he rode he much faster than he needed to. He did get here very quickly since he was supposed to be at the Garrison still. Wait? Didn’t Jason say he was covering Adam’s class? Why was he here now?

“Phil? What are you doing here? What’s wrong?” Jason asked, rising to his feet to meet his friend, and voicing Adam’s thoughts.

Adam stayed seated, letting the scene play out before him. Phil placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder, giving him a look that told him that he was okay. He brushed past him and turned his attention to Adam. His look was sympathetic, and full of heartache. Adam recognized that look. He had seen it a long time ago, on the worst day of his life. And now, it was happening again. So many faces made that damn look. And he prayed he’d never have to see it again.

“Adam…” Phil tried to speak, his voice cracking on his name. He knew what delivering this news would do to him. But it would be better to hear it from his friends instead of the Garrison officers or the cadets that gossiped in the halls.

“What happened?” Adam asked, tears beginning to run down his face. It was a pointless question. He knew exactly what Phil was going to say, even before he said it. And once he heard those words, he would never have the chance to fix things ever again.

“It’s Shiro…..”

**Present Day**

Adam sat perched on the windowsill of the front room of Keith’s cabin. After escaping the Garrison, they had doubled back through the canyon maze to cover their trail. It would take quite a while before anyone would be able to track them down. The damage Adam and Keith had done to the main generators would leave the Garrison crippled for a while, and the path they took back to the cabin would leave anyone trying to follow them lost in the valleys. But what was the point? That was the question that Adam pondered as he watched the sun begin to rise over the horizon.

He had acted purely on impulse and desire. Once he saw Shiro on Veronica’s computer screen, all rational thought and reasoning had went out the window. He defied the Garrison. Made himself and Shiro deserters. And for what? Because of the possibility they might keep Shiro in quarantine for a long time? Who’s to say they wouldn’t have let him out eventually? The more Adam considered his actions, the more he started to feel regret over them. Story of his life really.

Adam looked over to the short hilltop where Shiro was standing outside, overlooking the landscape. Adam could see him perfectly from where he sat. The sunrise cast a long shadow across the valley, making it look like Shiro was standing at the edge of the world. It made Adam think of his dream from the night before. The difference here was Adam was sitting inside, watching Shiro afar while Keith talked with him. As he watched them, he came to understand the bond between them was stronger than he ever realized. Keith rested his hand on Shiro’s shoulder to comfort him, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. And Shiro’s body seemed to relax under the contact, looking more at ease in his presence. Them two of them truly were…. brothers. Keith was the one comforting Shiro, and Adam was just a passive observer. A third wheel….

Despite all that, at least Shiro was here now. After a year of being gone, and being presumed dead, he was back. There was no telling what kind of trials and hardships Shiro had been through in the time that he was gone, but at least he was healthy, for the most part. When they first got back to the cabin, Adam took the opportunity to examine Shiro’s condition. Aside from the obvious metal prosthetic that replaced Shiro’s right arm, there were some scars that covered his torso here and there. As for his white streak of hair, Adam wasn’t quite sure whether or not it was the result of mental trauma that had caused a physical reaction, or if it was caused by whatever experiment he had undergone that replaced his arm. Survival had obviously been a large part of Shiro’s life lately. How unfair, Adam thought. Shiro didn’t deserve any of that pain. He was always such a kind and compassionate person. A dedicated soldier, and a man who had to overcome the adversity placed on him by his own body. He shouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

But maybe now, Shiro would have a chance to rest. He had slept for awhile due to the sedative he had been given. It gave the others a chance to rest as well until he awoke. When he did, Keith provided him with some of his father’s clothes, which luckily happened to fit Shiro’s large frame. Adam had mentally scolded himself for not having the foresight to bring some of Shiro’s own clothes. It was just another way Keith was able to look out for Shiro where he could not. Adam contemplated all this as he watched them from the window. The real question that needed to be answered was what their next move was going to be. According to Pidge and the others, Shiro was trying to deliver a warning of some kind. They would just have to wait and see what he had to say and decide what to do from there. And more importantly, he had to figure out what he was going to say to Shiro.

**VVVVVVVV**

“So, what happened out there? Where were you?” Keith asked. He stood with Shiro a short distance from the cabin, hoping to get some answers from him.

After waking up from the sedative, Shiro was completely overwhelmed by the change in scenery and all the people surrounding him. Keith helped him get dressed and led him outside to regain his bearings. Keith couldn’t help but notice how Adam hung back the whole time once Shiro got up. It was odd, considering how much effort Adam had gone through to arrange his rescue, but Keith supposed it made some kind of sense. The two of them didn’t exactly leave things on the best of terms. Adam had said as much anyway. So that meant it fell to Keith to check on Shiro.

“I wish I could tell you. My head's still pretty scrambled. I was on an alien ship, but somehow… I escaped. It's all a blur,” Shiro admitted. Whatever he went through must have had a serious impact on his mental state if he was having trouble with his memory. Still, he seemed to be acting like himself, at least as far as Keith was concerned. Shiro turned to look at him, genuine curiosity gracing his features, “How did you know to come save me when I crashed?”

“Actually, it wasn’t me,” Keith admitted reluctantly, “It was Adam. He showed up here at the cabin and told me you were being held by the Garrison.”

Shiro scoffed, which was almost a chuckle, “Stubborn as ever,” Shiro remarked of the man he once loved, “So are you two actually getting along better these days?”

Adam and Keith had a bit of a strained relationship even before Shiro went into space. They never really saw eye to eye on a lot of things, but there was a level of mutual respect between them at least. The only thing they could really agree on was that they both cared about Shiro. Maybe that was the only reason they tolerated each other. Shiro thought it was funny considering how similar they actually were, although he doubted either of them would ever realize it.

Keith shook his head, “No, not really. If anything, our relationship is worse off since you left. I only listened to him because he had information on where you were, and I needed his help.”

Shiro’s cool expression turned somber, “You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” he insisted. It was the same thing Shiro always told him whenever him and Adam were at odds. It made Keith feel a little guilty. All Shiro wanted was for the two of them to get along. But that just wasn’t possible. Not anymore. This was about more than just a petty fight or squabble. It was about something Keith didn’t think he could ever forgive.

“He gave up on you Shiro. He forced you to choose between him and your dreams. He could have waited for you. He should have waited for you!....... It’s not right,” Keith was adamant in his stance, only turning away slightly because he felt bad about raising his voice in front of Shiro. Although Shiro wasn’t sure his outburst was entirely about Adam. The way Keith was acting, it was like he was personally invested in what had happened. But that wasn’t true. There had to be something more to it. Shiro decided to let it go for now until he could discern what it was.

He sighed heavily, “It’s not that simple Keith. My problems with Adam….. they’re not as black and white as they may seem. They’re complicated,” Keith crossed his arms and looked away, reluctant to accept the idea. Shiro went on, “I know it’s easy to make someone else the villain, but he’s not the bad guy Keith. You have to understand that relationships are mutual, and ours ended because of the choices that we both made. Okay?”

Keith thought for a moment. He assumed that Shiro would understand where he was coming from, and would inevitably side with him. After all, he was on the receiving end of Adam’s unfair choice. But from the way Shiro was acting, the look on his face and the melancholy in his voice, Keith could tell he didn’t really blame Adam. He didn’t blame him at all. What was the missing piece? And why was Shiro upset that there would be understandable tension between Keith and Adam? It perplexed him, but he decided to concede for now. After all, he owed Shiro so much, he doubted that he would steer him wrong now.

“Sure,” Keith agreed with some resentment. Sure, he would try and get along with Adam, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Still, Adam did go to a lot of trouble to get Shiro out of military custody, so Keith supposed he could work with that for now, “But you should talk to him at least,” he told Shiro.

“I will,” Shiro nodded, relaxing now that Keith had agreed to let things be.

“Come on. You should come see this,” Keith said, leading Shiro back into the cabin.

As they entered, Shiro finally had enough of his bearings in place to really absorb his surroundings and the people there. Three young faces he didn’t really recognize were all staring up at him as they entered. And then there was Adam. He sat perched on a window sill, looking out at the horizon and intentionally avoiding looking at Shiro. Shiro smiled internally. Adam always brooded when he didn’t know how to act or what to do. For being a young prodigy capable of adapting to anything, he was a rather big mess of emotions, and rarely knew how to handle them. He would either explode, screaming and yelling at whatever was the cause of his frustrations, or he would sit around and sulk until he could figure out what to do.

Shiro decided to put that off until Adam was ready to talk. Usually when he got like this he just needed a minute alone with his thoughts before he figured things out. Shiro turned his attention back to Keith, who pulled a sheet off a giant display board that was standing against the wall. On it were pictures and maps with strings connecting them. Sticky notes were plastered to the board too, voicing Keith’s thoughts sporadically.

“What have you been working on?” Shiro asked, trying to grasp the purpose of the board.

“I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn out to this place,” Keith said, pointing out to one of the maps, “It's like something... some energy, was telling me to search.”

“For what?” Shiro urged him to continue. Keith smirked. That was one of the reasons he really appreciated Shiro. He never judged Keith for anything he did or said. He was willing to listen to whatever Keith had to say, supporting his choices and showing him how to improve when he was wrong.

“Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area,” Keith flipped the board to reveal the other side, showing pictures of cavern walls and drawings of symbols, “It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some kind of convergence event. I was looking over all this when Adam showed up, asking for help to rescue you,” Keith said, drawing attention to Adam.

Adam looked over at them as all eyes turned on him. He made eye contact with Shiro for a brief second before he lowered his gaze and turned to look back out the window. Shiro frowned slightly at the reaction, deciding to take it in stride and focus on the others in the room.

“I should thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?” Shiro said, smiling as he held out his hand to Lance. Shiro didn’t actually know him, but he remembered hearing his name when everyone was clamoring around him after having just woken up. He might have been able to catch a few more names if Keith hadn’t practically smacked them all and made them give him some space. Lance shot up and gleefully took Shiro’s hand, beaming at the acknowledgment.

Pidge came up to next to him and started speaking, “The nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge. So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?”

“I'm not sure,” Shiro said, trying to get a hold on his memories, “I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces.”

Hunk dove in between them before Pidge could follow up, “Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for us? Like - where are they at this very moment?” Hunk babbled on incessantly, letting his panic and anxiety show.

Shiro spoke calmly so as not to agitate him any further, “I can't really put it together. I remember the word ‘Voltron.’ It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do.”

“Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and…”

“Hey, give me that! What were you doing in my stuff?” She screamed, snatching her bag out of Hunk’s hands and sitting on the couch.

“I - well, I was looking for a candy bar or something. But, then, I started reading his notebook,” Hunk pulled out a small journal from behind his back.

“What?!” Pidge yelled, even more offended than before. She shot up trying to grab the journal back.

Hunk, just held it away from her, continuing on as if she wasn’t even there, “And I noticed the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line.”

“Frown who?” Keith asked. He wasn’t the most scientific person. He was more of an instinct type of guy, rather than an educated one.

“It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element. Only, this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron. And I think can build a machine to look for it, like a Voltron Geiger counter.”

“Hunk, you big, gassy genius!” Lance praised.

“It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this” Hunk said, handing Pidge her notebook back and unfolding a piece of paper from his pocket, holding it to show a wave of lines.

“Give me that!” Keith quickly snatched the drawing from Hunk’s hands, turning to his board and holding it up to a cave drawing he had taken a picture of. As he held up the drawing, it was clear that it matched one of the symbols drawn on the cavern wall.

“Okay, I admit it. This is super freaky,” Lance said, seeming to lose any sense of doubt he might have had over the connection between Keith’s search and Voltron.

“It will take awhile to make it though, so everyone just sit tight for a while,” Hunk said, grabbing some tools out of Pidge’s pack, which he clearly had familiarized himself with.

“If I help, we’ll finish quicker,” Pidge said, moving to snatch her bag back and gather the necessary materials.

“I’m going to get some fresh air,” Adam said to no one in particular, standing up from the windowsill and walking out of the cabin without looking at anyone.

Shiro looked on as Adam left. It was evident that this was all too much for him. One of Adam’s habits was to run away from something he just couldn’t handle. It didn’t happen often considering he had one of the most stubborn personalities that Shiro had ever seen, but when he did, he removed himself from the situation completely. Hell, he even tried to run away from Shiro when they first met. Still, Adam had only prepared himself to rescue Shiro and become a deserter from the Garrison. At no point did he sign on for alien invasions and conspiracy theories. That would be a lot for anybody to take, regardless of who it was. But for Adam, it was an especially painful idea given his past.

“You should go talk to him,” Shiro turned to see Keith with a sympathetic look on his face. He could tell just how much Shiro was dying to go and say something to him, but he needed a little push. Shiro was selfless to a fault, and Keith didn’t want that to get in the way of a reconciliation that Shiro clearly wanted for himself, “Adam and I may not get along very well, but he did all this for you.”

“Yeah,” Shiro agreed. Spurred on by Keith’s words, Shiro followed Adam outside. Maybe, they could clear the air after all this time.

“Lance, come over here and help me double check these maps,” Keith said, wanting to direct attention away from Adam and Shiro so they could have a moment.

As Shiro walked outside, Adam was sitting perched on the hood of his hoverbike. He had his arms crossed across his legs, one hand fidgeting with the ring he wore as a necklace. Adam heard footsteps approaching, but he didn’t react.

“Soooo, Keith tells me you’re the one who staged my breakout,” Shiro said, walking up next to Adam and leaning against the bike.

Adam’s body stiffened at the sound of his voice. He turned his head slightly and looked at Shiro out of the corner of his eye, speaking with a flat and unfeeling tone, “Well, I have classes in the morning and was looking for a convenient way to get out of them. Rescuing my supposedly dead ex-boyfriend from the Garrison and becoming a deserter in the process seemed the easiest way to do that. Although, all things considered, maybe I should have just called in sick,” he sighed with feigned disinterest and a sarcastic tone. Only Adam could sound that apathetic.

Shiro smiled down at him. Adam always resorted to sarcasm when he was feeling uncomfortable. It was the same way he acted when they first became friends. He only ever did it to cover up the way he really felt. Sometimes it was a little too mean or annoying, but right now, Shiro was just glad that he could be here to hear it all, “I missed you too,” Shiro replied, reading into Adam’s response.

Adam opened his mouth to say something, but he was at a loss for words. His mouth hung open for a moment before he closed it, water welling up in his eyes. He jumped up from his seated position and pulled Shiro into a fierce hug, making Shiro stumble slightly as the force knocked the wind out of him. Once he regained his composure, he melted into the hug, embracing the warmth of Adam’s body. It had been so long since he felt comfort of any kind. His memories were still fuzzy, but everything he could remember was full of pain and suffering. It was so nice to relax in the arms of someone he…..SMACK!

“Ow! What was that for!?” Shiro whined, falling away from the hug and rubbing the top of his head where Adam had just hit him, tears springing to the corners of his eyes in response.

“What was the one thing I told you before you left!?” Adam yelled, his right hand balled in a fist and his expression furious.

“Um, don’t go on the mission?” he guessed.

“The other thing!” Adam yelled again.

“I love you…?” Shiro asked, unsure of what he wanted to hear.

“I told you to come back safe you idiot!” Adam yelled even louder, grabbing Shiro by the hem of his shirt and throttling him.

Shiro dropped his hands from his head, placing them on top of Adam’s to make him stop, “Well, technically I did come back…” he smiled awkwardly.

Adam scoffed and pushed him away, “Yeah, with a streak of white hair, a robot arm, and, oh yeah, an intergalactic alien threat on your heels!”

Shiro crossed his arms. Okay, this was the part where Adam’s outbursts started to get annoying, “Well if this was such a burden on you, why didn’t you just let Keith save me?” Shiro said, taking a stab at Adam’s ego.

Adam made an offended expression, his words cutting surprisingly deep, “Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you? Well if it wasn’t for me, that little twink wouldn’t have even known you were here! He would just be out in the middle of the desert twiddling away with his maps and drawings like some kind of emo caveman!”

“Well I’m not the one who went running to him for help to save my supposedly ‘despised’ ex-boyfriend!” Shiro said, making air quotes with his fingers. Adam subconsciously noted the way Shiro’s mechanical arm was able to make precise finger movements. But he was too fueled by anger to pay any real attention to it.

“Oh you better believe I despise you for fucking off to space!”

“Really!? Because I seem to remember you crying and throwing a fit begging me to come back!”

“Yeah, and you fucked that up too!”

“How is it my fault that I got captured by aliens?!”

As Shiro and Adam continued to argue, or rather, throw insults and quips at each other, Lance and the others sat on the floor watching them from the window. Keith’s attempt to distract them had failed once the yelling had started. However, he decided to stay focused on his work board to figure out where they should start their search.

“So, what’s the story there?” Lance asked the room.

“It’s none of our business,” Keith said flatly, paying no mind to what was going on outside. Even if the others weren’t going to give them privacy, he was still going to respect it.

“Looks like a lover’s spat,” Hunk said. None of them could fully hear what they were saying, but they did manage to catch a loud phrase here and there. And their body language suggested a strong familiarity with each other.

“You think so?” Lance asked, genuinely surprised by the implication.

“Lance, don’t you idolize Shiro?” Pidge criticized, “Why don’t you know anything about this?”

“Well don’t you idolize Adam? How come you don’t know anything?!” Lance fired back.

“I only idolize him by reputation. It’s a little different. I don’t know anything about his personal life,” she explained.

“I wonder why we never heard anything about it. They’re both basically celebrities at the Garrison,” Hunk wondered out loud.

“They were pretty private about their relationship,” Keith said, drawing their focus towards him, “Not so much that they were trying to keep it secret, but they wanted to maintain their professionalism in front of others. Besides, they were together for a long time, so it was nothing new for people to gossip about.”

“Were together?” Pidge asked.

Keith turned back to his work board, “Like I said, it’s their business, not ours”

Shiro and Adam continued their futile tirade at one another. What they were saying didn’t really matter. It was more important that they were finally able to vent all the frustations and negative feelings they had been holding onto for the past year. It was therapeutic in a way. Even though they were yelling at each other, it came with a wash of relief from not having to hold anything back anymore.

“What happened to you not being here when I came back, huh!?”

“I was angry at you asshole!” Adam cried.

“So why even make the effort to save me!?”

“Because I…!” Adam stopped, realizing he couldn’t say he still loved him. There were way too many complications between them now. The way they had left things had been bittersweet, but that was a year ago. Since then, Adam had gone through various stages of trauma and depression over Shiro’s disappearance and presumed death. And now he was still alive, right here in front of Adam, having gone through who knows what since he disappeared. It was impossible to tell how Shiro felt about their relationship now, and Adam knew that his own feelings had changed since then as well. He decided to settle on, “You suck, and I hate you, but I had to make up for my mistakes. I pushed you away. So much so that it ended our relationship. So when I found out you were still alive…..I have too many regrets as it is.”

Shiro calmed down as Adam spoke in a more serious and honest tone. Having pushed through his anger, he was finally ready to tell the truth, “Adam, it wasn’t your fault. It was my choice to leave.”

“You know damn well that’s not the whole story Shiro,” he chastised.

Shiro was taken aback by his response, “Shiro?” the sound of his own name on Adam’s tongue bothered him. It sounded like a foreign word coming from him, and Shiro would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt a little, “You haven’t called me that in years.”

Adam looked at him with a somber honesty, “Doesn’t really seem appropriate to keep calling you Takashi when we’re not together anymore,” he leaned back against his bike, starting to fidget with his necklace again. Shiro understood, but it still hurt. He watched as Adam twirled his fingers on the chain around his neck.

“What’s that?” Shiro asked, trying to steer the conversation away from something so painfully awkward.

Adam followed Shiro’s gaze to the ring he was spinning in his fingers. He dropped it, letting it fall against his chest, “It’s my stress toy,” he said defensively.

“I just don’t remember you ever wearing it before,” Shiro told him, sensing the impertinence in his voice. He didn’t want to come off as judgmental or accusing, he was just genuinely curious.

Adam sighed, realizing he was being too oversensitive, “Well after you left, I couldn’t keep wearing your dog tags around my neck. It was…. too much,” he turned his head to the desert horizon so he wouldn’t have to look at Shiro as he spoke.

“They’re not just my dog tags Adam,” Shiro reminded him.

“I didn’t want to keep wearing a memento of everything I’d lost,” Adam cut in, “I wanted to hold onto what I had, and all the good times we spent together. Wearing those tags just kept reminding me of the pain. So, I took them off. But I felt like I was missing something without them on, so I bought this instead,” he said, motioning toward the ring around his neck, “And then I just kinda, developed a habit of fidgeting with it whenever I need to take my mind off things. And it helped keep me from giving into bad habits.”

Bad habits? Shiro wondered what that could mean. Maybe Adam was drinking too much? Could the serious and responsible coffee drinker have given into the temptation of alcohol while Shiro was gone? Or was it something even worse than that? Shiro decided it was probably best if he didn’t know. Adam didn’t seem to want to talk about it anyway.

“What’d you do with the dog tags?” he asked.

Adam looked up at Shiro, looking a little mortified before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two metal tags on a chain, “I guess I couldn’t let them go after all, huh? Pain must just be a part of who I am,” he reached out for Shiro’s human hand and held it up, placing the tags in his palm, “Here.”

Shiro was a little astonished, trying to refuse what he had given him, “Adam, I can’t. They have your…”

“Please,” Adam said, a desperate look on his face as he held his hand over the tags in Shiro’s palm, “Hang on to them for me, and then you can give them back after everything has settled down. Because I know if you owe me something, you’ll have to come back to give it to me,” Adam moved his hand away, leaving the tags in Shiro’s hand. He then cleared his throat, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, “After all, it’d be a pain in the ass to have to go and rescue you again. I doubt I’d work up the motivation to do it again. I can’t be bothered with those kinds of things all the time.”

Shiro chuckled lightly, “I thought you didn’t believe in things like fate and such?”

“I don’t. But I believe in people having to pay back their debts. Especially when they’re debts owed to me,” he sneered.

Shiro laughed, “Okay. I’ll hang on to them.” He looped the chain over his neck, putting the dog tags on and tucking them under the collar of his shirt to hide them from sight. Shiro pulled Adam in for a proper hug, one that didn’t result in any physical pain. As they parted Shiro noted how Adam seemed to tower over him ever so slightly. Things really had changed. He remembered how they used to be the same height, “You’ve gotten taller.”

“I guess so…. You’ve gotten stronger,” Adam pointed to Shiro’s frame, taking the attention off himself, “Your shoulders are broader.”

“Are they?” Shiro asked, not really having noticed the difference. He turned his head to look at his own body. He hadn’t really paid much attention to his physical state other than to stay alive while he was being held prisoner. As Adam looked him over, he realized that maybe Shiro’s old clothes wouldn’t have fit him so well anymore. Maybe it was for the best that he forgot to bring them. But what started as a passive observation became a genuine curiosity. Shiro’s body was more muscular and broad than it used to be, and Shiro’s disease should have advanced to a stage that would prevent that from happening.

“I thought that wasn’t possible given your condition,” Adam asked, starting to let his medical expertise take over.

“I don’t know. I think they did something to me. Something to slow the progression of my disease,” Shiro said, holding up his metal arm, as it was the most noticeable change to his anatomy, and the one where he used to inject his medication.

Adam grabbed ahold of Shiro’s arm and looked it over as he spoke, “It would explain why they replaced it with such a sophisticated prosthetic. I took a look at it while you were unconscious,”

“Diagnosis?” Shiro asked, curious as to what Adam thought about it.

“It’s fully functional. Considering it can make precise movements it must have some form of a neural link to your brain,” Adam was a jack of all trades when it came to academic accomplishments, but one of his greatest talents was his medical expertise. It was a way that he could care for people and have complete control over the outcome. Any good psychologist would say it was his way of compensating for the horrible things that happened to the people he cared about. But really, he just had a natural talent for it. Shiro recognized that it was one thing that Adam really enjoyed without feeling like he had to play it off.

“Also, there’s hardly any scaring around the area where it is attached to your body,” Adam went on, “So that suggests it increases your body’s ability to repair damage. I’m assuming you weren’t able to take your medication while being held prisoner, so whatever this arm is doing for your body, I have to assume it’s what’s suppressing your condition. But these are all superficial guesses. I can’t say anything for sure without a proper lab or supplies,” he looked up at Shiro, who’s gaze was transfixed on him. He watched the way Adam carefully looked over every detail of his arm, tracing his finger over the lines where the plates joined together. Adam felt a rush of embarrassment, his cheeks flushing red as he let go of Shiro’s arm and stepped back, “Sorry.”

Shiro gave a warm and comforting smile, “It’s okay. I’m happy to see you again, even if you’re not entirely happy to see me.”

Adam started to fidget with his necklace, “I wouldn’t say that.”

Shiro nodded his head toward the cabin, “Come on. Let’s go back inside with the others.”

Adam followed after him, feeling a little more at ease with himself knowing that Shiro was okay and that they had a chance to talk. Sure, they hadn’t talked about everything they needed to, but they managed to get a lot of their frustrations off their chest. Or at the very least, Adam did. And that would have to do for now. Because despite the fact that Adam wanted no part of the alien threat that Shiro had brought with him, he wasn’t going to let him go at it alone with a bunch of wayward kids. Shiro was the most important person in his life. Whether they were together or not, he wasn’t going to lose him again. And he would do anything to make sure that didn’t happen. Anything.

**VVVVVVVV**

As Pidge and Hunk finished up the device to help them detect the wavelengths that Keith had been tracking, they decided to take some time to rest first before heading out. Their run from the Garrison had kept them awake all the way into the next day. Of course, most of them were running high on adrenaline and the mystery that was set out before them. It would still take some time before they were tracked down by the Garrison forces, so they had a little bit of leeway.

As Adam lay on Keith’s couch, he hoped that Veronica would keep his secret. If she decided to rat him out, then Iverson would send out forces after any of his known associates. That would lead them right here to Keith’s cabin, since he had a history with Keith, thanks to Shiro. Not only that, but they might even detain and question his closest friends. Adam’s stomach turned at the thought of Jason or Phil being taken in without even knowing why. He thought about the expression on their faces when they learned that Adam had gone missing and was most likely a fugitive and a deserter.

Adam shook his head. This was the plan. This is what he had to do. He had to leave his friends behind. And because he didn’t tell them anything about where he was going, they would be safe. It was the best thing he could do for them. He couldn’t fall into his regrets now.

As the others awoke, they began to prep for their departure. Adam loaded up his duffel bag and satchel. Keith brought a pack, and Pidge stored some extra water and food in hers. The others didn’t have anything to carry though, seeing as their involvement in the rescue attempt was a last-minute fluke. Keith grabbed one of the maps off his board, laying out the best path to one of the caves that had drawings in it. Adam wasn’t really sure what they would find, but the pieces seemed to be falling into place, at least from a logical standpoint.

Finishing their preparations, they all got back on Adam and Keith’s hoverbikes to set out on their path to the caves. Adam offered to let Shiro drive his, thinking it might be relaxing for him after everything he went through. Shiro just politely shook his head. Adam jumped onto his bike, the others getting into the same formation as they did before. Shiro got on behind Adam, wrapping his arms around his waist. Adam’s breath hitched at his touch, as he hadn’t expected such an intimate embrace so suddenly. He could almost feel Shiro smiling behind him from his reaction. Cheeky bastard! If he thinks he can just pull that crap, he’s got another thing coming! Pidge climbed on behind Shiro, setting her hands on his shoulders before they all took off for the caves. Keith sped off first, Adam following closely behind him as they made their way.

**VVVVVVVV**

It didn’t take long to reach the caves. Keith had obviously been there dozens of times as his maneuvers through the complex valleys were practiced and steady. It was easy to see why the caverns had gone unnoticed for so long. When everything more or less looks the same, it can be nearly impossible to spot anything significant. It was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles.

As they all followed Keith inside, Hunk started tuning the device him and Pidge had made. Adam and Pidge brought their packs just in case since they had no way to gauge just how deep the caves would run.

“I'm getting a reading,” he said, moving to the front of the pack to lead. Keith and Pidge were hot on his heels, while Lance hung back to chat with, Adam and Shiro.

“So Adam, you and Shiro used to date?” he asked, taking an interest in their obvious displays of tension. The fight outside the cabin and the way Adam cringed up when Shiro got on behind hm was more than enough to pique his interest. He knew they had been together after what Keith had told him, but there was something way more complicated going on now. And with nothing better to do, he might as well try to get the whole story.

“Yeah, back during our Garrison days,” Adam confirmed, “That was until someone ran off on a space mission,” he side-eyed Shiro as he spoke.

“You know, it wasn’t exactly a picnic for me up there,” Shiro responded, unamused.

“Yeah, you were up there battling against an evil alien race. I bet you met some cute renegade space soldier and hooked up with him too, right?” Adam said with a bored tone. He had recited the basic plot of almost every sci-fi action flick, and it was just too predictable for him. All that was missing was an intergalactic space princess and he could chalk up their current situation to a B-movie space adventure.

“What? No, I was fighting for my life,” Shiro said a little bewildered, dumbfounded that Adam thought he could even have the time for romance. Sometimes Adam came up with the most ridiculous things. Emotional and distressed Adam? Shiro could read him like a book. But calm and composed Adam? He might as well be a mystery book written in French.

Upon hearing Shiro’s response Adam burst out in a fit of joy, jumping on Shiro’s back and wrapping his arms around him, “Oh Takashi, you really are faithful!”

Shiro and Lance stopped as Adam pulled himself into a piggyback position on Shiro’s back. Shiro didn’t really seem to be bothered by Adam’s weight, but he was completely confused by his weird behavior. Just a few hours ago Adam made it clear that they were no longer together, and that he was still upset over Shiro leaving for space. Now he was acting like his friend Jason all of a sudden, who had a reputation for being so bright and cheerful that he would tackle people to the ground in excitement. Adam’s friends must have rubbed off on him more than he realized during the year they were apart. Lance just stood and watched, enthralled by the strange display.

“What? But… we broke up?” Shiro struggled to find the words for this weird situation as he turned his head to look at Adam.

“Yeah, but I still wouldn’t have approved,” he responded flatly, staring Shiro straight in the eye.

“Wha…” Shiro’s mouth hung open, his brain seeming to malfunction at Adam’s response.

Lance took note of how Adam was able to render Shiro speechless. There was definitely a long and complicated history here. They claimed that they weren’t together anymore, but they also seemed to be at their most comfortable around the other. Adam had literally jumped on Shiro’s back, and Shiro didn’t make one remark or objection toward that fact. He just held him there. Their relationship was so strange, it was like watching a soap opera. It was just way too interesting!

Their attention was pulled back to the others as they heard Hunk’s device beeping up ahead.

“Whoa!” Hunk and Pidge exclaimed.

Lance and Shiro rushed forward to catch up with the others. As Shiro broke into a jog, Adam lost his grip and fell to the ground with an, “oufff!”

Catching up to the main group, they saw the intricate cave drawings covering the walls. A mix of symbols and lion depictions decorated the cavern. It was one thing to see them in the pictures, but it was quite another to see it in person. It was mesmerizing in its own way, to see the intricacy of art displayed in such an encompassing manner. All the time and work it must have taken to tell the story it was trying to convey. It was… beautiful.

“These are the lion carvings I was telling you about. They’re everywhere around here,” Keith stated.

“Ow, damn it. Get back here!” Adam called out, picking himself up off the floor and dusting off his clothes before running after them. Before he could berate Shiro for dropping him, Lance touched one of the cave drawings, making the whole cavern light up as each drawing glowed a bright blue.

“Whoa. Whoa!” Lance fell back on his behind in surprise.

“They've never done that before!” Keith exclaimed.

As they all stood in awe of the luminescent cave drawings, the floor beneath them began to glow as well. It formed a perfect circle before cracking and caving in. They all fell through the hole, hitting a slope deep within the cavern that had water running down it from some hidden stream. It was like a makeshift waterslide. They all screamed as they slid down the slope, caught off guard by the floor literally giving way under them and having no idea where they were going to end up.

Hitting the ground sooner than expected, the slide ended and opened up into a large pond. They all splashed into the water in a pile, drenching their clothes and supplies. Adam fell into the deepest part, completely soaking everything, even his satchel bag. He sat up out of the water, taking off his glasses and trying to dry them off to no avail. Shiro had plummeted face down next to him. He lay there in the water for a moment, unmoving, before shooting straight up on his hands and knees gasping for breath.

“Shiro, hold still,” Adam said, grabbing the collar of Shiro’s shirt and drying his glasses off on it. He put them back on and readjusted them, “Thanks.”

“I almost just drowned. Were you really going to leave me?” Shiro raised an eyebrow in irritation.

“What? You got up okay,” he said simply.

“Guys,” Lance said, making them all look up at him. He was the first one on his feet and was standing at the edge of the puddle. They all rose and stood behind him, looking ahead to see the incredible sight before them.

They stood in a giant open cavern. At the other side was a giant mechanical blue lion. It was surrounded by a large blue transparent orb. It was amazing, and so unreal. If it wasn’t so prominently displayed right in front of him, Adam wasn’t sure if he’d even believe it. It must have been some kind of attack vehicle for land-based combat based on its design. But then how did it get to Earth if it was alien tech like Shiro claimed? And how long was it here for? Adam couldn’t see any openings in the cavern as far as he could tell. Was it possible it’s been here so long that the rocks built up and formed around it?

“Is this it? Is this the Voltron?” Pidge wondered aloud.

“It must be,” Shiro told her.

“This is what's been causing all of this crazy energy out here. Looks like there's a force field around it,” Keith observed. It was strange to admit, but Keith was absolutely right. Although, that in itself was sort of strange. How did Keith know to search out here in the first place? If it wasn’t for Hunk’s device, they may not have stumbled across the blue lion. And yet, Keith had been in these caves dozens of times already. He said that something drew him out here, but he never said how or why. Was the Blue Lion exerting so much energy that Keith was able to sense it out in the desert alone? The questions and variables were endless.

Lance swayed back and forth as they walked toward the mechanical marvel, “Does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?”

Shiro and Adam looked up at its eyes, squinting before they both responded, “Mm... No.”

“Yeah. The eyes are totally following me,” he insisted, walking from side to side as if he was trying to escape its gaze.

“I wonder how we get through this,” Keith said, all of them coming to a stop just in front of the blue force field.

“Maybe you just have to knock,” Lance walked straight up to the field and knocked twice before anyone could warn him. The field could have been electrocuted for all they knew, lucklily for Lance, it wasn’t. Surprisingly though, his knocking actually worked. With a loud pulsing sound, the energy field dropped, completely disappearing in front of them.

The floor beneath it light up as well. Adam thought for a moment that it might collapse again, but then like a rush of wind, a wave of energy surged over them. The lion’s eyes shone a bright yellow, and it was like they could all see the same thing. The lion was sending out a psychic signal to all of them. They could see that there was more than just this blue lion, but there were four more lions as well. Each one a different color and all of them capable of soaring through the air. Overtaken by the energy, they were all shone an image of the lions merging together, forming a giant humanoid robot.

As the images ceased, the room quieted down, and the energy stopped.

“Whoa,” they all exclaimed.

“Uh, did everyone just see that?” Lance asked, unsure if the psychic vision he had just seen was shared among the group or not.

“Voltron is a robot! Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!” Hunk spat out without missing a beat or taking a breath.

“And this thing is only one part of it! I wonder where the rest of them are,” Pidge inquired.

Shiro stepped forward, “This is what they're looking for.”

Adam looked on with some reservations. He knew that tone. He knew, that this had become Shiro’s mission now. Wherever this was about to take him, he was going to follow through with it to the end. It was the one thing Shiro had over everyone else. Belief.

The lion whirred and moved, lowering its head right in front of them and opening its mouth. The bottom panel of its mouth unfolded into a ramp, laying out a cargo entrance for them all to enter it.

Lance, who was already ahead of the pack, decided to be the first one to jump inside. He made his way straight up to the head of the lion. It looked like a cockpit, with one chair set in the center and a control board a bit too far up ahead from the seat. Straight ahead was a black screen that must have somehow indicated what was in front of them. Kinda like a tank, Lance assumed.

“Mmm... hmm. Here we go,” he said, sitting down in the chair. Once his butt hit the seat, the chair rushed forward making Lance scream like a girl from the unexpected movement. He soon realized he was in front of the control board, and he leaned forward to look at it. A hologram screen came up in front of him, and the front wall that had looked like a black screen transformed into an image of the cavern in front of them. The others huddled around Lance, cramming themselves into the small space.

“Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, you know, aware. We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now,” Hunk said.

It was true, if not a little obvious. If only that was the strangest thing that had happened recently. Honestly this was just a check on the list of weird coincidences at this point. The others just let Hunk talk, but didn’t really feel the need to comment on it.

Lance suddenly felt himself being pulled forward, yet he remained still in his seat. He could almost feel something washing over him, a deep purr ringing in his ears like a far away echo.

“Whoa. Did you guys just hear that?” Lance exclaimed.

“Hear what?” Keith asked, as him and the others seemed to have no idea to what Lance was referring to.

“I-I think it's talking to me,” Lance told them.

_Great, giant mechanical robot also speaks to people telepathically. Check_. Adam mentally noted.

Lance examined the controls and pressed several buttons. The lion stood and roared, making the head shake from the vibrations. Pidge and Hunk exclaimed their surprise, while Keith, Shiro, and Adam just watched on from behind him.

“Okay. Got it. Now, let's try this!” Lance grabbed the two handles on either side of his seat and pushed them forward.

The blue lion took off, crashing through the rock wall of the cavern and speeding off into the sky. The lion spun around until it was upright, thrusters shooting out from beneath its paws and launching it upward. The lion spun around unpredictably with Lance at the controls. Adam braced himself against the wall and Shiro’s metal arm, which he had placed against the ceiling. Keith was leaning into Shiro for support while trying to hold onto Hunk. Pidge was pulling on Lance’s hoodie to keep from falling while he was sat somewhat uncomfortably in his chair, with Hunk pulling on his hair for his own stability.

Pidge and Hunk screamed the loudest, while Adam and Shiro gritted their teeth to brace themselves. This thing didn’t look like it could fly. Psychic vision or not, how could any of them predicted that!? Keith screamed at Lance, “You are - the worst - pilot - ever!”

They all continued to scream as the lion touched down to Earth and began running across the open desert plains. It evened out the lion, and they no longer had to struggle for balance.

“Isn't this awesome?” Lance shouted with glee. He was getting a thrill out of this. It was a freedom like no other. The kind he had always suspected flying would give him.

“Make it stop. Make it stop,” Hunk cried, his eyes watering and looking like he was about to be sick. Which was nothing new. It was just surprising he hadn’t puked yet.

“I'm not making it do anything. It's like it's on autopilot,” he explained. The lion jumped back into the air, and the thrusters came back on, shooting the lion toward the atmosphere.

“Where are you going?”

“I just said it's on autopilot! It says there's an alien ship approaching Earth. I think we're supposed to stop it.”

“What did it say, exactly?” Pidge spoke with some irritation, holding herself in a bracing position in case they started to spin again.

“And when did it say it!?” Adam yelled. He was getting real tired of this. How had saving his ex-boyfriend turned into such a complicated mess!?

“Well it's not like it's saying words, more like feeding ideas into my brain, kind of,” Lance said, obviously unsure of how it was working himself.

“Well if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, I don't know, give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone. Sorry, lion. Nothing personal,” Hunk reasoned. He didn’t have the heart for battle, that much was clear. He must have been an engineer, or something to that affect considering his knowledge in science and mechanics.

Shiro spoke with a heated fervor, “You don't understand. These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead.”

Hearing Shiro’s description of this alien race, the others glared at Hunk in disappointment.

“Oh. Never mind then,” he raised his hand in surrender, not realizing how bad giving up would be in this situation.

As they broke the atmosphere and hovered in deep space, a giant alien ship appeared out of nowhere in front of them. It was like it had traveled so fast that it was suddenly just there. The design was long, and not very practical. It was probably a command ship of some sort.

“They found me,” Shiro whispered to himself. He seemed more than familiar with this kind of ship. Keith thought it was curious. Shiro told him how much of a hard time he was having to remember what happened to him, but it looked like he was getting those memories back quickly.

Floated adrift in space, the alien ship fired energy blasts from its starboard side directly at them. Thanks to the distance and how relatively small the lion was, the shots missed them, but surrounded them as well.

“We've got to get out of here!” Pidge screamed, being the first one to be the voice of reason.

“Hang on!” Lance punched the controls as everyone braced themselves again. He managed to dodge the blasts and gain some distance from the assailant by zig zagging through them. It was sloppy, but effective.

“All right. Okay, I think I know what to do.” Lance turned the lion back around to face the ship, flying forward toward it.

“Be careful, man. This isn't a simulator,” Pidge screamed.

Lance laughed, “Well, that's good. I always wreck the simulator.”

“Oh that’s comforting!” Adam said sarcastically. How could this kid be smiling right now!?

“Let's try this,” Lance punched one of the throttles forward, making the lion open its mouth and shoot out a giant blue laser. The laser cut across the starboard side of the alien ship, causing small explosions to erupt from the damaged areas.

The ship shot out another stream of blasts from the front end of their ship, which Lance managed to quickly dodge by diving forward underneath it. The lion swiveled up, landing on the enemy ship and dragging its claws across the surface, breaching the hull and creating more explosions in their wake.

“Nice job, Lance,” Shiro praised. Lance was rough around the edges, but he had talent. Shiro was always good at seeing the best in people and what they were capable of. It was one of his best and most frustrating qualities in Adam’s opinion.

“Okay, I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet,” Lance turned the lion. Having more than captured their attention he zoomed as far away from Earth as he could, as fast as possible. Yet, somehow, the were immediately pursued. How could such a large ship turn and follow them so quickly? It was almost inconceivable.

“They're gaining on us,” Pidge warned, keeping an eye on their pursuers.

“It's weird. They're not trying to shoot us. They're just chasing,” Lance observed.

“Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good? I am not on board with this new direction, guys,” Hunk whined.

Adam leaned forward over Lance to address Hunk, “Shiro said they want the lions, right? Shooting us down didn’t work, so they’re going to tail us until they can figure out a way to catch us.”

“Where are we?” Keith asked, unfamiliar with all the open space around them.

Shiro looked around, pointing out a planet covered in ice ahead of them, “Edge of the solar system. There's Kerberos.”

“It takes months for our ships to get out this far. We got out here in five seconds!” Pidge was astounded. The capabilities of this lion were absolutely incredible!

“Kerberos…” Adam stared wide eyed at the icy blue planet. Seeing the cause for so much of his pain, it was haunting. So much loss, just to get here. To a tiny little blue rock you couldn’t even see from the sky. And yet for this feat of alien tech, it was like it was nothing at all. What was his life anymore?

“Adam?........Adam?” Shiro called out to him, shaking him out of his daze.

Adam shook his head free from his thoughts, “Sorry…. I’m fine,” he lied.

Once he finished speaking, a wormhole opened up in front of them, just past the ice planet. It was strange though. The wormhole was a swirl of purple, surrounded by what looked like a blue circle composed of symbols. It looked like a magic circle or something. No. An alchemist circle would be more fitting. Adam would have found it hard to believe, but at this point, he was pretty much ready to take anything on as truth. If someone where to tell him werewolves were real, now would be the time that he’d probably believe it.

“What is that?” Hunk panicked.

“Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there!” Lance told them.

“Where does it go?” Pidge asked. It was a good question. This wormhole just appeared out of nowhere. They could end up inside a black hole or in an active volcano for all they knew. How could they trust the psychic advice of a giant mechanical vehicle?

“I-I don't know,” Lance admitted with some hesitance, “Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?

“I still outrank you?” Shiro said with surprise as he turned to Adam. With Shiro supposedly dead and gone, the Garrison should have offered him his position. Adam was easily the best pilot after Shiro, it would only make sense to do so. So why wasn’t he?

“They offered me your position as first officer, but I turned it down.”

“But you…”

“Shiro,” Lance interrupted with some urgency. There was definitely more to that conversation, but they were all running out of time as the lion drew closer to the wormhole.

“Uh, sorry,” Shiro refocused his efforts on the situation at hand, “Whatever is happening, the lion knows more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together.”

“Well I guess we don’t have any other choice,” Adam conceded. The others nodded in agreement. Seriously!? If this situation wasn’t so crazy already, he would seriously question the sanity of everyone here. But there weren’t a lot of options. Going back to Earth would just draw fire and attention to it. And despite the damage Lance had already done, it was doubtful they could take down that giant ship before getting blown out of the sky or captured themselves.

“All right. Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow,” Lance pushed forward on one of the controls, making the lion accelerate toward the wormhole. The alien ship that had been hot on their heels sped up to follow closely behind, obviously having figured out what they were planning to do. Lance zoomed ahead as fast as he could, and as they drew closer the wormhole started to get smaller. It was closing! If they could just get inside right before it closed, they could escape the alien ship.

Adam closed his eyes and braced himself, his grip on Shiro’s metal arm tightening. It was a good thing Shiro couldn’t feel anything in that arm. Wait, could he? Adam would have contemplated the question longer if he hadn’t heard a loud whooshing sound that caused him to open his eyes. They were inside the portal, surrounded by massive waves of energy that formed the wormhole. They looked behind them and had obviously outrun the enemy ship. Unfortunately, the portal entrance had also disappeared, and that meant one thing. There was no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to get to Allura by the end of this chapter, but my writing went on way longer than I expected. So next time we'll get Allura and the castle of Lions. Once we get through the introductions and paladin assignments, I'm going to start getting into more unique and interesting stories as they apply to Adam.  
> And for anyone wondering why I featured Jason and Phil so prominently in Adam's story, since I am expanding upon his character it only makes sense to give attention to his own friends and people that care about him.  
> Stay tuned for the next update! I'm hoping to update at least one or two more times before the final season comes out.  
> Follow me @horrorskit on twitter for updates on when I'll post new chapters. You can also message me there as I'm way more active on twitter.


	4. The Castle of Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Adam and the others find a mysterious castle on an alien planet, they must determine how they will face the oncoming Galra threat on their heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise bitches! Thought you'd seen the last of me? Well I'm back, and I have a new year resolution to post more chapters with more frequency. I took a break for the holidays, and then....season 8 happened. I needed some time to come to terms with it all, but I'm back to writing this story, and I'm not giving it up! I am sorry it took so long for me to post again, and I can't promise there won't be gaps in my posts, but I am going to try much harder! The next chapter is already written and just needs a revision before I post it within a day or two. I was going to post it all as one chapter, but it would have been twice as long as it is now, so I decided to split it in half. I hope you all will stick with me on this journey. But if not, then I completely understand. But otherwise, please read and enjoy!

After escaping into the wormhole, Adam and the others seemed to float within the swirling vortex with no concept of where they were going. It only took a few moments before another portal opened up in front of them. As they plunged through it, they found themselves back in the deep darkness of space. They didn’t really have a concept of where they were right now, but at least they weren’t being pursued anymore.

Lance breathed a heavy sigh, “Whoa. That was...”

Hunk groaned, throwing his head toward the ground and throwing up.

“I'm just surprised it took this long,” Pidge quipped.

“Aw man, you got some on my shoe,” Adam whined, stepping away from Hunk as much as the space would allow.

“The lion seems to want to go to this planet. I think... I think it's going home,” Lance said. The lion was flying very fast toward a large planet that had a topography similar to Earth’s. It looked like there was water and land as they descended onto it. If the land masses weren’t a distinctly different shape, they might have mistaken it for Earth.

“Is this really the best plan? We have no idea what’s on this planet, or how far from home we are,” Adam asked.

“It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?” Lance reasoned out, not seeming to think of much beyond the immediate danger they just escaped.

“I don't know if you noticed, but we're  _in_  an alien warship,” Keith countered, his voice sarcastic and flat.

“Oh, are you scared?” Lance taunted. The rivalry he had built up in his head made him more irritable towards Keith. As someone who actually had animosity and tension with Keith, Adam could relate.

“With you at the helm? Terrified,” Keith spat back. Well, the kid knew how to give a solid comeback.

“All right, knock it off,” Shiro cut in, getting annoyed at the bickering cadets, “No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together.”

As the lion descended into the atmosphere, they could see all manners of plant life and rock formations on the ground. Waterfalls and rivers could be seen cascading across the landscape. It looked so much like their home planet, but something felt off about it. Like there was something hanging in the air telling them that this wasn’t really their home. And while it may have looked the same, there was no denying that this place was alien.

Pidge looked around the beautiful landscape, taking in the scenery before her, “So, what do we do?”

“First, we find out where we're headed. Lance?” Shiro asked, already falling into a leadership role among the group of teens. Adam didn’t mind. He didn’t even want to be out here in space anyway. It was best that Shiro take charge, for multiple reasons.

Lance looked back and forth between his holographic monitor and the view in front of him, “I.. don't know. I'm sorry. The lion's not talking to me anymore. Wait! Wait, wait, wait there's a castle up ahead!”

They all looked dead ahead, and sure enough, there was an incredibly large castle standing on a giant mesa that was surrounded by deep canyons. A large bridge was the only thing that connected it to the land mass across the canyons. The castle was elegant. It had 4 white towers surrounding one large tower in the center, all of them decorated with blue accents. The shape was a little strange, a sleek design that reflected the futuristic technology that it no doubt had.

Lance and the others all gaped in awe. It was quite a sight to see. Adam on the other hand, just felt uncomfortable. And Shiro, well he wasn’t feeling much better.

“Keep your guard up,” Shiro warned, not wanting the group to get too lax and comfortable in the light of all these amazing things that were happening around them.

“Something wrong?” Pidge asked concerned.

Shiro spoke seriously, “My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again.” Adam looked over at Shiro, seeing the look of determination on his face. His brows were furrowed, and his jaw was set. Seeing him like that, it shot a pang through Adam’s heart.

The lion landed at the foot of the castle, dropping its head and opening it’s mouth back up to form a ramp to the ground once again. They all filed out, stepping in front of the castle to see what was awaiting them. As they approached the doors, the lion rose to its feet and roared, startling them all.

“No, no! I knew it was going to eat us!” Hunk screamed, bracing himself to be attacked. Pidge and Lance stepped back, while Adam, Keith, and Shiro got into defensive stances.

But the lion did nothing but settle back down into a seated position. Instead, a luminous glow behind them caught their attention. They turned around to see the large castle door glowing, blue lines illuminated the door as it opened along those lines. The slabs of the door disappeared into the walls, setting into place and creating a large open doorway that even the Blue Lion could fit through.

“From the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger,” Pidge commented as they walked up the stairs to the entrance.

Entering the castle, they were greeted to the sight of a large and dark hallway. It was even taller than the door leading inside, and there were no windows to let in natural light. The hall was dimly lit by the sun at their backs, giving the inside an ominous vibe. Stepping into the castle, a bright light beamed from the ceiling down on all of them like a spotlight. Everyone froze in place, waiting to see what this would do.

A monotone female voice emanated from the castle, “Hold for identity scan.”

“Why are we here? What do you want with us?” Shiro called up to the voice, hoping it was capable of giving them answers. However, the voice did not respond. It was very likely just an automated computer system rather than a sophisticated A.I. And the voice was too robotic to be a person, unless this planet was full of robotic humanoid people. Adam shook off that thought, things were already weird enough.

The beam of light dissipated and giant cylinders along the hallway walls lit up, making the path ahead of them visible. It was strange, the lights were dim, but somehow the entire hallway was brightly lit.

“I guess we're going that way,” Pidge said. She was right. What other options did they really have other than to just go forward? It’s not like they could get back home from here. They didn’t even know where home was! Everything that had been happening for the past hour had just been a series of coincidental circumstances leading them here. From finding the Blue Lion, warping through a wormhole, and now finding a mysterious castle. How could they possibly get back from here?

“I’ve seen horror movies like this you know,” Adam said. Being stranded on an alien planet and led down mysterious hallways? Adam wouldn’t be surprised if they were captured and thrown into pods where their bodies would be used to incubate and hatch alien monsters.

“You want to wait back at the lion?” Shiro asked slyly, already knowing the answer.

“Are you kidding me? I’m not staying behind with that thing! And I’ll be damned if I’m the first to die out of you pack of losers,” he declared.

“Hey!” Pidge exclaimed, surprisingly taking the most offense. He would have thought it would be Lance, or that at least Shiro or Keith would come up with a witty retort. Still, Pidge was likely the smartest out of the bunch, and she did have respect for Adam and his reputation.

“Well, okay, you’re kinda cool,” Adam smirked at her. Pidge smiled smugly, adjusting her glasses to acknowledge her appreciation.

Suddenly, Lance slid out in front of them, striking a pose with his arms to draw attention to his sparkling smile, “Obviously I’m one of the cool ones,” he announced.

Everyone stood there just staring at him. Keith opened his mouth to respond, but Shiro nudged him with his shoulder to cut him off, clearly aware of the insult that was about to come out of his mouth. Adam wasn’t too sure what to say himself. Lance was an amusing guy, but his cool guy antics needed work, “Ehhh, you’re pending,” he settled on.

“What about me?” Hunk asked, feeling left out of Adam’s ranking system. Pidge having lost interest in the conversation walked past them both and went on ahead, leaving the others behind.

Adam stared at Hunk apathetically, crossing his arms across his chest, “You puked on my shoe.”

Hunk nodded, “Yeah… that’s fair.”

“Hello?!” Pidge called out from ahead, her voicing echoing through the empty halls. The sound of her voice recaptured everyone’s attention back to the task at hand. They followed after her, coming across a winding staircase that went down into a dark unknown. Aside from Hunk, who was very clear about his reservations to head down into what was the horror movie equivalent of a serial killer’s basement, they all went ahead without much hesitation.

The room at the bottom of the stairs was incredibly large and open. Except for the lights behind them, it was completely dark, making it hard to see their surroundings. At the center of the room was a small podium that looked like some kind of control console, the soft glow of the screen making it discernable in the darkness.

“Where are we?” Lance inquired.

Pidge walked up to the podium, getting a sense for what it did. She noticed there were symbols on the small hologram, “It's.. some kind of control room,” she assessed. As she approached it, the console lit up, “Whoa!”

In a sudden rush, the whole room was filled with light, and two large pods rose out of the ground from behind them. They had ascended out of circular panels in the floor that had surrounded the center console. Shiro, Adam and Keith got into defensive stances, ready to fight in case it was some kind of defense system. Hunk and Lance huddled around Pidge protectively.

The glass on the pods was foggy, but also slightly translucent, letting them see a rough silhouette of two humanoid shapes inside. They looked frozen, completely unmoving. If these were the alien incubation pods Adam was thinking about earlier, he was going to grab Shiro and run like hell.

“Are these guys... dead?” Hunk asked, slowly approaching one of the pods.

Lance walked over to the other, and as he did so, the glass of the pod seemed to vanish completely. It disintegrated away, almost like magic. But that couldn’t be possible, could it? Maybe the futuristic tech here had come up with a way to change the composition of atoms?

The young woman inside gasped as her eyes shot open, reaching out immediately and calling out, “Father!”

She lost her footing, falling into Lance’s arms. Everyone froze, waiting to see what this new encounter would entail. As she looked up at him, Lance was finally able to get a good look at her. She had a dark complexion and light blue markings under her eyes. Her ears were pointy like an elf, and her hair was pure white and incredibly long. She wore a beautifully long flowing blue dress with white accents.

Taking in her stunning appearance and beauty, Lance smiled in a charming and comforting way, “Hello.”

“Wow. Five seconds and he’s already hit on his first alien. Maybe he is cool,” Adam remarked from behind them, complimenting the bold move.

Slowly beginning to understand that things weren’t the same as she remembered them, the young woman looked around and then back up at Lance, “Who are you? Where am I?” she spoke in a subtle accent that sounded almost British.

Lance continued to speak in a seductive tone, “I'm Lance. And you're right here in my arms.”

“Your ears….”

“Yeah?”

“They're hideous. What's wrong with them?” she said, letting go of Lance and stepping back from him.

Lance dropped his seductive voice and fell into a whiny high pitch, “Nothing's wrong with them! They heard exactly what you said about them!”

Seeming to take his raised voice as threatening, the woman grabbed Lance by the arm and spun him around, shoving it against his back and putting him in a hold, dropping Lance to his knees, “Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?”

“A giant blue lion brought us here! That's all we know!” Lance cried out.

That seemed to upset the woman even more, “How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to its paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless... How long has it been?”

Shiro stepped forward, his deep but calming voice cutting through the tension, “We don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help,”

The woman seemed to take Shiro’s words and tone seriously, letting go of Lance and letting him fall to the floor. She stood up straight and addressed the rest of the group, “I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep,” She walked away from Lance and over to the center control console.

Allura placed her hands on the console, causing it to glow and make a holographic screen project itself in front of her. Pidge walked up next to her, taking a great interest in how the console worked.

“It’s official. I’ve fallen into a cheesy science fiction movie. Or maybe it’s a coma,” Adam sighed, remarking on how they just happened to find an alien princess in the depths of space. First his boyfriend was captured by aliens, which apparently exist. Then they find a futuristic lion that takes them deep into space, and now they literally found an alien princess? How was this even real life!?

“Adam, I know this is a lot to take in, but let’s just find out what we can,” Shiro said reassuringly. He was handling this all much easier than Adam was. Although, he had spent a long time in alien captivity. If anyone was used to the unusual at this point, it would be him. But even accepting the fact that Shiro was an alien prisoner, and not actually dead like he thought, was too much to handle. Even if he was grateful Shiro was still alive, it was starting to feel more and more like a fantasy.

“Why should we try to find anything out?” Adam argued, “We’re not on earth anymore. And apparently, this is no longer real life. We’re smack dab in the middle of Crazy Town!”

“Would you give it a rest,” Keith chimed in, fed up with Adam’s existential crisis.

Before Adam could fire back a response, the second pod behind them opened up. Inside was an older man, looking about to be in his mid 40s, with a large orange mustache and slicked back hair. He wore a full body suit that was primarily blue, with darker blue stripes and white accents. He opened his eyes, his awakening much calmer than Allura’s had been.

He looked over and saw everyone in the room, gasping and jumping forward out of his pods, “Enemy combatants!” he spoke in the same accent as the princess. He jumped up, launching a kick at Lance, which he easily sidestepped given the distance between them, “Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the old ‘sleep chamber knees.’ Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, and one, two, three, sleepy time!” The man gestured a sleeper hold after getting back on his feet.

Lance seemed to take the imaginary fight as a challenge, gesturing back, “Well, before you did that, I'd….. Hyaaa! Like that!”

“Really? How could you do that when I've already come at you with this? Ha, ha, ha, hey!” He grunted, making even more ridicuolous gestures that didn’t even look like fighting. This new guy was weird to say the least, but at least it was a harmless sort of weird. So far….

“Man, these guys are good,” Hunk smiled. Well, at least someone understood what was going on.

“I take back what I said about him being cool,” Adam said flatly.

“It’s not like you’re that cool either Adam,” Shiro smirked at him.

Adam turned to him, “You have never said anything more offensive to me in my entire life.”

Shiro chuckled lightly. He missed these little interactions between them. And in the few moments they’ve been back together, he couldn’t help but feel a spark. A longing deep in his heart. One that he should probably ignore, but couldn’t deny was there. The computer console beeped, bringing their attention back to Allura.

“It can't be,” Allura spoke, her voice heavily with disbelief and a hint of anguish.

“What is it?” the man asked, stopping his imaginary battle with Lance.

“We've been asleep for 10,000 years!”

The revelation weighed heavily on both of them. Adam and the others were filled with questions, desperately wanting to understand not only what had happened to Allura, but also wanting to know how they had come to be here as well.

“Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization…... Zarkon did this,” She spoke gravely. She was awash of many emotions, most of them grief and pain, but her voice turned spiteful at the mention of Zarkon’s name.

Shiro gasped, “Zarkon?” his eyes glazed over for a second, and his body tensed, telling Adam that the name had triggered a memory. And from the looks of his reaction, it was not a pleasant one.

“He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people,” Allura tole him, filled with hatred over what he had done.

“I remember now... I was his prisoner,” Shiro said, holding up his metal arm to look at it. His fists were clenched tight, the trauma of what he went through visible for all to see. Adam noted that he should probably test Shiro for PTSD when they had a chance. He was already starting to display some symptoms.

“He's still alive? Impossible!” Allura spoke furiously.

“I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron.”

“He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does!” Allura declared.

After that, Allura shared her story. She spoke of the planet Altea and her people. She told them about her father King Alfor, and how he tried to defend them from the tyrant Zarkon. But it was to no avail. He had put Allura and Coran in the hibernation pods, hoping to keep them safe until he returned to let them out. But it was obvious, that he never did return.

Adam’s heart broke for Allura. Her tragedy was something he could relate to, even if it was on a much smaller scale. Regardless, that feeling of loss was something he was familiar with. More than once he had lost someone he loved to the depths of space. Someone who claimed that they would come back to him, only to find out that they never would come back at all. But Adam got lucky, because Shiro did come back to him. Allura on the other hand…… she was less fortunate, and her tragedy was a thousand times worse.

At first, Adam wasn’t sure if they should even trust them, but her story helped to convince him. She had faced plight and tragedy. And the beautiful castle around them told him they were in fact royalty. And the pain and grief she was expressing over the loss of her people was completely genuine, at least as far as Adam could see. Not only that, but if their sworn enemy Zarkon was in fact the same one that captured Shiro, then he could trust in the fact that there was someone more threatening out there. But overall, this place seemed safe. Even the giant Blue Lion, which was apparently sentient, tried to protect them and their planet by leading the Galra away.

Allura went on with her story, letting the gravity of the devastation they were facing settle in. If Zarkon truly was alive, then the entire universe was in danger of his rule.

**VVVVVVVV**

Allura leaned against the console. Now that she’d had a chance to regain her bearings and come to terms with everything she had lost, her mood had dropped drastically.

“Princess, you must eat. It's been 10,000 years,” Coran urged her, gesturing toward the floating plate of green goo that Coran had brought in from the kitchen.

“I'm not hungry,” she whispered.

“Man, 10,000 years? That's like one thousand plus ten,” Lance said, trying to express some empathy towards her situation.

“That's ‘times’ ten,” Keith corrected.

“Whatever, dropout,” Lance said spitefully, not appreciating his chance at heartfelt emotion being disrupted.

“At least he can do math,” Adam spoke up. Whoa. That was weird. He had shot out another sarcastic quip like usual, but he had done it in Keith’s defense. Ugh, since when had he started doing that?

Shiro decided to sidestep all the pettiness and talk to Allura and Coran directly, “I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago. It must have been an incredible place,” he praised. His tone was soft, and his demeanor was comforting. He wanted to show respect in the best way he could in the wake of their tragedy.

Coran sighed, remembering all the wonderful things of his world like it was a far off dream, “Yes, it was... but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive.”

Allura looked up at Coran, seeing the melancholy expression he wore and the gloom in his voice. Someone she had known to be so exuberant and full of energy was brought down to this state. She got up and hugged him, knowing that they only had each other now. After a brief moment, Allura opened her eyes, becoming incredibly alert as if something had just caught her attention.

She let go of Coran and walked back over to the hibernation pod she had come out of. She crouched down, seeing several mice, all of various colors and sizes, standing in a row. They waved at her, happy and cheerful to be recognized by her. She scooped them up in her hands and smiled.

“Looks like we're not the last, after all,” Allura stated. The mice seemed unusually intelligent. They were incredibly responsive to what Allura was saying and her actions. Adam wondered what the other animals on her planet were like. It may have seemed strange to be excited about some mice surviving the near extermination of Altea, but he figured it was the closest thing Allura could find in the way of comfort. Much like finding a dog or an animal companion that you rely on when you can’t rely on others. It was a pretty simple state of mind to understand. Besides, these mice actually looked cute and friendly compared to the ones on Earth.

As they all stood around watching Allura, a blaring alarm echoed throughout the control room.

Coran whirled around to look at the control panel as a holographic image of a Galra ship hovering in space appeared on the screen, “A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!”

“How did they find us?” Allura asked bewildered, placing the mice back on the floor and rushing over to the console.

“I'm not sure, but I bet it’s Keith's fault,” Lance said.

“Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better after getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!” Keith yelled. He already had anger issues to start with, and Lance’s presence was not helping.

“I'll stick you in a wormhole!” Lance shouted back. He looked like he wanted to fight, but Adam knew Keith well enough to know that Lance would not win that fight.

“Stow it, cadets!” Shiro cut in once more, stepping between them and pushing them away from each other. This was starting to become an annoying routine, “This is no time to place blame. It's time to work as a team. How long before they arrive?” he asked Coran.

“At their speed?” Coran began to think, counting on his fingers, “Oh, well, carry the two... I'd say probably a couple of days.” That was more reassuring. It was impressive that the castle had systems that could pick up threats from so far away. It would give them a chance to work out a plan and escape.

“Good. Let them come!” Allura spoke with fire in her eyes, “By the time they get here, you all will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!”

Adam was about to protest the immense and incredibly unrealistic goal she was trying to place on them when Hunk suddenly belched, cutting him off, “Sorry. Food goo,” Hunk grinned, feeling awkward as his bodily noises had broken the tension.

Shiro was the first to speak back up, “Princess, we only have one of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?” He didn’t bother to oppose the idea that Allura was expecting them to fight the Galra empire, and that worried Adam. But at the very least, they could use these lions to fight off the Galra ship and protect themselves. So for now, Adam decided to keep quiet. Maybe Shiro had the same idea, and then they could all go home. Maybe…

Allura and Coran led them out of the control room and up the stairs in response to Shiro’s question. They all followed closely behind, walking into another large room shaped like a half circle. There was a raised walkway running down the middle, with two steps leading down to the base floor. Along the rounded wall, it looked like there were more control terminals. The walls looked strange compared to the rest of the hallways and rooms. They were a dark greyish black, like tinted windows that you couldn’t see through. Allura stood at the very end of the raised walkway, closing her eyes and breathing deeply in focus. Coran and the others gathered around her, keeping a moderate distance.

As she stood there, another beam of light descended on her. She looked composed, but focused. Then, as she opened her eyes, the room was filled with a holographic projection of the stars. Tiny little balls of light surrounded them, each one containing symbols and numbers.

“King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force. She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts,” Coran told them.

They stood there in awe, watching the stars slowly float by them. It was like standing directly in the middle of a planetarium. _It’s just like back then_ , Adam thought, the marvelous sight bringing back fonder memories from his past. Adam looked over at Shiro, seeing that he too was in awe, and he couldn’t help but hope that he was thinking of the same thing that Adam was.

“These are coordinates,” Pidge said, being the first to notice the purpose of the symbols in each star, “The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion,” she noted.

“Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage,” Coran patted her head. It was incredibly condescending, but maybe that was the best they could come to giving praise.

“Very observant,” Allura genuinely complimented. Nevermind. Coran was just rude, “That's because the Black Lion is in the castle,” Allura went on.

“To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other four lions are present,” Coran explained. It was very convenient. They already had two of the five. All they needed to do was track down the other three and they would have the firepower needed to protect themselves. That’s what Allura lead them to believe anyway.

“As you have found, the lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain,” Allura began to explain. Adam thought the choice of the word quintessence was interesting. It seemed to suggest something more than just the centrality of a person’s character, “The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times. Someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion,” As she spoke, the small lion hologram moved in front of him to emphasize her designation.

Adam noted at how meticulously she laid out Shiro’s characteristics. Their interactions had been very brief, but she seemed to already know exactly what kind of person Shiro was. She was highly observant and intuitive. Adam wasn’t sure whether this should worry him or not. After all, they still technically didn’t know anything about these people outside of what they told them.

Allura started up again, the Green Lion hologram floating toward Adam, “The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Adam, you will…” realizing what was happening, Adam snapped into a resolute tone.

“No,” Adam swatted at the Green Lion hologram, which responded to his gesture and floated back away from him.

“I’m sorry?” Allura was taken aback by his obstinance.

“I said no.,” Adam was adamant in his choice. There was no way he was going to fly one of those lions. Not of his own free will.

“You are a perfect match for the Green Lion. Your skill and intellect make you the most likely candidate,” Allura pressed, getting a little frustrated herself at Adam’s reluctance. That in itself showed she wasn’t as attentive to detail as he originally thought.

Adam refused to back down at her insistence, “You also said the bond can’t be forced. I don’t want it. Outer space and me, we don’t mix. I’m not flying it.”

Shiro stepped over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder to indicate not only the importance of their situation, but also to calm him down as he was starting to get worked up, “Adam, I know you’re scared, but you’re an amazing pilot. This is what we have to do.”

Adam brushed his hand off, not appreciating how Shiro was trying to handle him with kid gloves. He kept his attention on Allura, “The way I see it, you need 5 paladins, and there are 7 people in this room besides me. Take your pick,” Adam turned on his heels and stormed out.

“Hey!” Keith shouted. He’d had enough of Adam’s dismissive behavior and the way he would just abandon others in favor of his own self-interest. Keith started after him, only being stopped by Shiro stepping up to him and firmly grabbing Keith by the arm.

“Let him go Keith,” He insisted. Adam may have been a perfect choice to pilot one of the lions, but Shiro also knew that you couldn’t force someone to be part of a team when the stakes were so high.

“But!” Keith wanted to argue, but he took one look in Shiro’s eyes and saw there was no opposing him. He understood Adam in a way that Keith just couldn’t fathom. And even though going after Adam would be incredibly cathartic, it was clear Shiro wanted to let him have his space, “Fine,” Keith agreed, breaking free of Shiro’s grip and returning to his spot next to Pidge and Lance.

Allura sighed, moving on past the tension of Adam’s outburst, “Well, there is another with the capability to be a paladin. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion,” the hologram floated out in front of her. She looked at it questioningly, most likely uncertain about the designation that was originally meant for Adam. Allura went on, the Blue Lion hologram floating out in front of Lance. That was an easy association as Lance already seemed to be bonded to it anyway, “The Blue Lion…”

“Hold up, let me guess,” Lance cut in, striking another pose to show off his dazzling smile, “It takes the most handsome/best pilot of the bunch?”

Allura and the others just quirked their eyebrows at him. It was a good thing Adam wasn’t here right now. He would have at least four sarcastic comebacks for Lance’s comment.

Allura went on, not bothering to address any further, “The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together,” the hologram floated out in front of Hunk. He grunted questioningly, his reservations as plain as day on his face.

“The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion,” Keith smirked as the hologram floated in his direction. He seemed to appreciate someone recognizing the strengths in what other people considered to be problematic personality traits. Shiro agreed with her choice. He had always seen the natural talent that Keith had, ever since the moment they first met.

“What? This guy?” Lance whined.  Keith side-eyed Lance with minor annoyance, but he didn’t say anything.

“Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it might need some work,” Allura said apologetically.

“Don't worry, we'll find it soon. They don't call me ‘The Coranic’ for nothing! It's because it sounds like ‘mechanic.’ So... Coranic, mechanic. It doesn't sound exactly like it. It's similar,” Coran rambled on. Everyone pretty much ignored him after a moment when it was clear that he wasn’t saying anything important.

“Once all the lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe!” As she spoke, the holographic lions converged together, and in a brilliant glow of light, a giant projection of Voltron appeared. It was a giant humanoid robot, each limb a different color to reflect the lion it was made of. Not only that, the dark panels of the room seemed to dissolve away as well, letting in natural light from outside as it overlooked the cliffs. This room must have been an observation deck, or maybe even the control bridge based off the computer terminals along the windows.

“Awesome!” Lance exclaimed.

“Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying lions. Got that part. How do lions turn into legs?” Hunk asked. It was a fair question, but Shiro just chalked it up to the futuristic technology this place was exhibiting, “Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?” Well, that was a fair question too, probably.

Shiro stepped forward before they answered Hunk’s question, wanting to get to the more important matters at hand, “We don't have much time. Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go with Adam to get it,” Shiro ordered, giving everyone their own directive.

“What?” Keith asked bewildered. After Adam’s little outburst, he was not excited to be partnered up with him. They didn’t even get along that well to begin with.

“I’ll talk to him,” Shiro said, already knowing what Keith was thinking.

“In the meantime, I'll get this castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed,” Allura added.

“I'll ready a shuttle pod and load in the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion,” Coran headed off toward the hangar bay with Pidge in tow.

**VVVVVVVV**

Shiro walked down the hall after Adam once they had finished forming their plan. He found him in the nearby common room. A large open, circular room with couches around a center table. Adam sat perched on the armrest of one couch, seemingly lost in thought.

“We formed an attack strategy,” Shiro told him, breaking the silence.

Adam didn’t bother to look up at him, “I’m not flying one of those lions Shiro. Just being out here is already more than I can handle.”

Shiro sighed, sitting down on the couch cushion behind him, Adam continuing to sit on the armrest facing away from him, “You don’t have to. Pidge is going to fly the green lion, and I’m going to help retrieve it.”

Adam stiffened, “But Pidge is so young…..”

“And willing to be part of the team.”

Adam hung his head, feeling a little bit of shame about being outdone by a 15 year old, “Look I’m sorry for my outburst back there. But you know why I can’t.”

“Is it the same reason you turned down my position as first officer at the Garrison?”

“Oh, that again?”

Shiro stood up, walking around to talk to him face to face, “Adam you were easily the best pilot on our team. You deserved to take my rank.”

“Well I didn’t. I let Jason have it,” Adam stood up, his face desperate and looking like he was about to have one of his emotional breakdowns, “He shared your dream of space, but I didn’t. Being on the flight team. It’s different. I know how account for the force of the wind and gravity and all that stuff. But space? It’s unpredictable. You always found that exciting. I find it terrifying.”

Shiro approached him, putting his hands on his arms, just short of a hug, “I understand how you feel…”

Adam pushed him away, “Do you? How could you understand what I feel?”

Shiro furrowed his brow, annoyed by Adam’s obstinance, “Because I have empathy, and compassion. I’ve suffered, and I took your pain as my own. So don’t tell me for one second that I don’t understand!”

Adam was stunned by Shiro uncharacteristic outburst. But he wasn’t wrong. Shiro shared in his pain when Adam told him about his past. He comforted him and helped him through it, in a way that Adam didn’t think was even possible, “I’m….I’m sorry,” he walked over to Shiro and fell into his arms, burying his face in Shiro’s neck, “I just don’t like thinking about what happened.”

Shiro wrapped his arms around him, “Adam. What happened to Aiden wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was……. Yes it was,” Adam started to cry into Shiro’s shoulder, “I could have saved him, but I got him killed instead. And I can’t be part of something like that again. Okay? I can’t be one of those paladins where your survival, and the survival of those kids, are dependent on me. I’ll just fail you all, and get you all killed. I can’t risk that”

Shiro held out Adam at arm’s length so he could look him in his tear stained eyes, “Adam you can’t sit around thinking about what could go wrong. I know you could inspire hope and be great if you just try.”

Adam wiped away his tears, freeing himself of Shiro’s grip and stepping back from him, “I’m sorry Shiro. But I can’t do it….”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to sit back while the universe is in danger?”

“You’re more than enough to inspire hope in others,” Adam turned away from him, his voice weak, “I’ll help you find the lions, but then that’s it. I’m done.”

“I suppose that’s good enough,” Shiro agreed, but his heart felt heavy. This conversation almost felt like a goodbye. Like they were breaking up all over again. Shiro cleared his throat, “We’re going out to find the other lions. You stay here with Keith. If Allura finds the red lion while we’re gone, then you’ll need to go with him.”

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

“We don’t know what to expect when Allura finds the red lion. And you’re the only one I trust to look out for Keith.”

Adam got some of his fire back, speaking up, “After what I just said you can’t expect me to….!”

“Yes!” Shiro shouted, “I do. That’s the plan. Follow it,” he ordered, walking out of the room back towards the observation deck.

“Fine,” Adam huffed, He wasn’t sure what hurt more. The fact that Shiro’s concerns were now focused on Keith, or that he was expecting Adam to step up and be the one to look out for him. It pissed Adam off a little. Why did he have to think so much of Adam? And why did he have to order him around too if he thought so highly of him!? Adam broke out into a mocking tone once Shiro was out of the room, “Look at me. I’m Shiro. I survived out in space and became the leader of an intergalactic weapon! I’ll just tell everyone what to do, because I’m so…!”

“I can hear you!” Shiro called out from the hall.

“Damn it…”

**VVVVVVVV**

After sorting things out with Adam the best that he could, Shiro and Pidge took off on the shuttle pod out into space. Hunk and Lance followed them inside the Blue Lion. As they broke the atmosphere, Allura opened up two portals. Approaching them, Coran started talking to them over the comm radio.

“We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other lions open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quick about your work. The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So, if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives. Well, enjoy the trip!”

They all started shouting out protests, especially Lance and Hunk, but it was too late. The ships had already disappeared into the portals. Adam looked over at Coran.

“You know if they don’t come back, you’re gonna have to answer to me,” Adam warned, not a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. Coran nervously stepped away and started messing with the controls. Adam looked back up at the portals in the sky, “You’d better come back Takashi.”

“Tch,” Adam looked over to see Keith leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He must have heard Adam based on the way he was staring at him. It was obvious he was still upset about Adam’s reluctance to help and be one of the paladins, but that was something he would just have to deal with. He didn’t know the whole story, and he didn’t really deserve to know. Adam didn’t feel the need to explain himself just for the sake of breaking the tension between them. Tension was nothing new for them. He could live with it.

**VVVVVVVV**

Pidge and Shiro walked the fields of a fertile green forest. Using the locator that Coran had given them, Pidge guided them through the foliage. It was a pretty peaceful place to be, that much was true. Shiro breathed deeply, taking in their calm and serene surroundings. Breaking through the dense wood, they came upon a smooth flowing river.

“Look!” Pidge exclaimed. She pointed at a hollowed out tree trunk carved in the shape of a boat sitting on the edge of the riverbed. It would be the perfect way to move through the forest quickly to find the Green Lion. Before they had a chance to inspect the canoe, they heard a soft grumbling sound beside them. They looked over to see a large sloth like creature, about the same size as Shiro, just standing next to them and looking at the boat as well.

Pidge yelped, jumping behind Shiro and latching onto him like a koala. Shiro was also a little startled, stepping back hesitantly. How had that thing snuck up on them so easily? Whatever it was, it didn’t really seem to be threatening. More than anything, Shiro was just surprised by its sudden appearance.

“It's just a... whatever that thing is” Pidge said, realizing the sloth man wasn’t doing anything.

The sloth man looked over at Pidge, noticing the device in her hands. As it saw the ‘V’ symbol plastered on the back of the device Pidge was holding, It walked toward the riverbed, gesturing its hand to follow them.

“I... I think he wants us to get in his canoe,” Pidge said.

“Then I guess we should go,” Shiro said matter of factly. He didn’t seem to have any hesitance in his voice.

“Huh?” Pidge looked at Shiro, surprised at how casual he was going about this situation.

Shiro looked down at her and saw her perplexed face. He smiled reassuringly, “I've been locked up by aliens for a year. This is nothing.”

Pidge wasn’t exactly comforted by that, but at the very least, Shiro seemed relaxed. He was a prominent member of the Garrison, and someone that many people looked up to. Even Lance! So in that respect, she could be assured that he knew what he was doing and that he would have her back. Still, the trauma he went through obviously had an effect on his memory. It would probably be best for him to get checked out when they were in the clear.

Shiro got in the back of the canoe and sat down. The sloth man stood at the head, holding a giant oar as if the canoe was a gondola. Pidge jumped into the boat and sat in the middle, crossing her legs. Once she was in, the sloth man pushed off and the began to gently float down the river. The rush of water was gentle and relaxing, the wind softly rustling the leaves.

Pidge breathed deeply, reveling in the peaceful scenery. She chuckled softly, “I wonder if Hunk and Lance are having as good a time as us.”

“Coran said these were peaceful planets. We may not know him and Allura very well, but I think they can be trusted. Especially given the alternative. Besides, they seem to know what they’re talking about.”

Pidge sighed at that remark, “I know the Princess said this is supposed to be my lion, but what if she's wrong? I mean, she originally wanted Adam to pilot it,” Shiro listened to her intently. He didn’t even stop to think that Pidge being Allura’s second choice would weigh on her. He was so focused on Adam at the time, but now all these cadets were under his care. He should have been paying attention to her as well. Pidge went on, “She's a princess and all, but I'm not a pilot, even though I've always wanted to be a pilot. I mean I read all the fighter manuals, but I never got to fly the simulator. But hey, I can't be that worse than Lance. He crashed  _all the time_!”

As Pidge kept rambling, switching between a flurry of emotions from laughing about her insecurities to full on doubting herself, the sloth man looked over his shoulder at Shiro. It was hard to depict the look on his face under all that fur and his squinty eyes, but given Pidge’s nonstop ranting, it was pretty clear what emotion he was feeling. Shiro just shrugged sheepishly at him in a nonverbal apology.

Not even noticing the interaction between them, Pidge kept talking, “But what if I get in there and it doesn't respond? What if I get in there and it's too big and my feet don't touch the pedals? What if there aren't even pedals?!”

Shiro finally cut in to stop her, “You're rambling. Listen, our commander on the Kerberos Mission is the smartest man I ever met, and he always said, ‘If you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great.’”

Pidge gasped softly at his words. If only Shiro knew just how much of an effect they had on her….. of how much they really meant to her. Maybe she could tell him? Maybe… she should tell him? Even with his memory loss, he was the best candidate to help her. The last one to see her family….

The canoe came to a sudden stop, drawing Shiro and Pidge’s attention back up to the sloth man. He pointed his arm up ahead to a large dome of vines. Considering its perfect shape, it was a safe bet to say this lion also had it’s forcefield up, and that the plant life had grown around it. Pidge stood, looking over her shoulder at Shiro.

He smiled, urging her on, “Go. Be great.”

Pidge smiled. She was starting to see what Lance saw in Shiro. Why Adam and Keith risked so much for him, and why her family spoke so highly of him. He had the qualities of a strong leader, but also had the kindness of heart to push people to do their best. In her moment of doubt, he gave her words from her own father, and that was all the confidence she needed. She jumped out of the canoe and took off toward the dome. She crawled up the sloping vines, finding a hole at its top. She jumped in through it with a cheer.

Shiro waited with bated breath, silently praying that this would work for her. After a moment, a glowing green light pierced the cracks of the viney dome. And with a loud roar, the Green Lion ripped through the plant life and flew overhead. The canoe rocked back and forth from the force, the slothman and Shiro struggling to stay afloat.

Shiro smiled up at the flying lion, and Pidge back at him. Adam may not have wanted this, but Pidge was perfect for it. This was her strength of character, and who she was meant to be. Of that, he had no doubt, and neither did she.

**VVVVVVVV**

Keith and Adam waited for Shiro and the others to return in silence, letting Allura and Coran do the work and repairs they needed to make. After some time had passed, Pidge and Shiro entered the control room, both of them beaming. Hunk and Lance walked in close behind them, groaning and covered in dirt and sweat from the intense struggle they had faced. It was like they had just come home from a long day of working in a lumber mill. Pidge and Shiro had a noticeably much easier time retrieving the Green Lion.

“You made it,” Allura declared cheerfully, paying no mind to the disheveled state of Lance and Hunk.

“Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!” Lance groaned.

“Think how I felt. I am Hunk!”

“Yeah. We had a tough time, too,” Pidge lied, giving a sly smirk to Shiro, to which he responded with a soft smile.

Shiro had a way of setting people at ease, and apparently he had done the same for Pidge. Adam smirked, seeing Shiro fall back into his old habits. It was hard not to appreciate that quality about him. _Get ahold of yourself Adam!_ He thought to himself. _Don’t forget this asshole fucked off to space and left you behind, and then made you think he was dead! Although, that wasn’t his fault…._

“Did we find the Red Lion yet?” Shiro asked, cutting off Adam’s internal conflict. Probably for the best. Everything was happening so fast, Adam still hadn’t come to terms with his feelings yet. On one hand he was happy to have Shiro back, but on the other, he was still upset about him leaving in the first place. Why did emotions have to be so complicated?

“Allura just located it,” Coran affirmed, “There's a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again. We're Arus!” Coran finished excitedly. It was looking more and more likely that Coran was just crazy, or oddly exuberant.

“They're here already?” Shiro asked alarmed.

“Yes! Guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting is… it's more of an art than a science!”

“How does that make sense!? Can nobody in this castle do math?” Adam asked bewildered. He swore the longer he was out here, the less sense everything was starting to make. Maybe he really was in a coma. Only his mind could torture him this much.

“I can,” Pidge cut in.

“Right,” Adam agreed half-heartedly. The most rational person he could relate to was 15 years old. Everyone else was either a cute, but irritating ex-boyfriend, a teenage punk, or a straight up alien. What was his life right now!?

As if on cue, a holographic screen appeared in front of the main observation window, relaying an incoming message. On the screen was a large humanoid beast man. He had purple fur and skin, and a glowing yellow eye. The other eye was scarred and looked like it was replaced with a mechanical lens.

He spoke in a deep, menacing voice, “Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, or I  _will_  destroy your planet,” The screen dissipated, but the message had been clear.

Adam noted that he called the princess by name. That meant he knew a lot more than he should have. As far as the Galrans were concerned, they should have assumed Allura to be dead. If they had known she was alive and where she was, they would have come and taken her a long time ago. So how was it possible that he knew Allura was still alive and in charge of this operation? Sure, the Galra followed Adam and the others to this location, and they hunted down Hunk and Lance when searching for the yellow lion, but that’s all they should have known. There had to be something else they didn’t know about the Galra.

“Alright, let's not panic,” Shiro insisted, his mind already running through possible battle strategies.

“Not panic? Th-The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four lions!” Hunk squelled.

“Technically, only three working lions,” Pidge corrected.

“That's right. Thank you, Pidge. Three working lions and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old!”

“Actually, it's 10,600 years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather…” Coran started.

“Thanks, Coran! Thank you for that. See? Now is the perfect time to panic!”

Allura cut through Hunk’s panicked rambling, “Wait! This castle has a particle barrier we can activate.”

Lance smirked, not seeming to appreciate the gravity of their current situation, “Girl, you've already activated my par…”

“Lance!” Shiro yelled, giving him an annoyed side-eyed look.

Adam began laughing, clutching his sides and making the others look at him perplexed. He wiped a tear from his eyes and sighed “We’re all gonna die.”

Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t exactly disagree with him. With a pilot like Lance at the helm, and still being down two lions, they were in deep trouble. At best they could put up a decent fight, but there was no way they could take out a ship that size with the three least experienced pilots at the helm.

“The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last,” Coran reasoned out. Great, another reason to worry.

“Panic now?” Hunk asked, waiting for permission to go out on another one of his terrified rants of what could go wrong.

“No,” Shiro spoke firmly, taking command of the situation, “We've just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly.”

“I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day,” Lance said. Being inexperienced, it was probably the best course of action in his eyes.

“I second that,” Hunk agreed to no one’s surprise, “Yes. I mean, we tried to find all the lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about.”

Adam wasn’t sure, but he was starting to think that Hunk was making even less sense with each rant.

Lance spoke confidently with the support of his friend, scooching over to Allura, “Then, it's settled. Allura, you ride with me. One of you take the old guy,” Allura stepped away from Lance, not amused by his advances. Despite their situation, they were still relative strangers, and he wasn’t exactly charming enough to make her look past that. It was like he was living in his own version of a space opera, and he was the titular hero that would whisk the princess away until they could come back and destroy the enemy. But this wasn’t a movie, no matter what Adam may have said.

“We can't just abandon Arus,” Pidge stood firm, her voice fierce as she was still riding high on the confidence boost that Shiro had given her, “The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them.”

“Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we hsssssss out of here,” Hunk linked his arms together and made a wavy gesture as he made a hissing sound. Yep. He was definitely making less and less sense.

“That was pure luck,” Adam told him. When the Galra had tracked them down, they were too focused on the appearance of the Blue Lion. It was just good fortune that they didn’t find Earth interesting enough to attack. And with their superior technology, Earth would have been devastated.

“Sendak could destroy the planet and then come after us anyway,” Keith said, making another point to support Adam’s claim, “Staying is our only option.”

“Here's an option, shut your quiznak!” Lance yelled at Keith.

“I don't think you're using that word correctly,” he responded coolly.

“What do you know, Mullet?!”

“We're staying.”

“Leaving!”

“Staying!” Pidge joined in.

“Snake!” Hunk started waving his arms again.

Shiro’s brow was furrowed in frustration, and Adam could have swore he saw that vein bulging in the corner of his temple that he got when he was pissed off. Adam had seen that look enough times to know. Sure, Shiro could be cool and composed, but he could get just as worked up as they rest of them. It was just a matter of figuring out what his triggers were. And a bunch of disobedient cadets arguing over and over again was definitely becoming one of them.

“Guys, stop!” Shiro yelled, his booming voice making everybody freeze. He cleared his throat and turned to the princess, “Princess Allura, these are your lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do  _you_  think is the best course of action?”

Allura looked stunned and uncertain. The way Shiro spoke, it was as if she had all the answers. In one moment, he had placed all the responsibility on her, and she wasn’t sure she could handle that. In reality, she wasn’t much older than any of them. She was still young and had her own doubts and reservations. And despite her skills at diplomacy, and the knowledge of the Galra’s treachery, she still couldn’t decide what the best course of action was, “I... I don't know,” she admitted, lowering her head in shame at having to admit that.

Each argument had their merits. On one hand, they could run and maybe have another chance to get the Red Lion back. But they would lose access to the Black Lion and the planet would most likely be doomed. They could attack the Galra and retrieve the Red Lion, but they most likely didn’t have a chance in the state they were in now. The castle was still in need of repair and their best pilots didn’t even have lions. They didn’t have much time. She’d need to make a decision. But how could she?

Coran walked up to her, speaking assuredly, “Perhaps your father can help.”

“My father?” She was deeply confused, but she dared to feel a little hope at his words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't too thrilled with the start of this chapter, but I started to get back into my groove by the middle. So, sorry if this chapter was a little rough, but more interesting things are coming, I promise! Next chapter is coming within the next couple days, and then I already have a future chapter written out. So expect quite a few updates within the coming weeks. If you enjoy my story, then please like and comment about which parts you like! I'd love to hear from you all!


	5. Defenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Allura receives advice from her father, the paladins take action to retrieve the Red Lion and form Voltron!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope you'll all enjoy this very special update! This chapter officially concludes the first episode, and then we're moving on to new and exciting things for this story! I already have a future chapter all worked out, but I need to write one or two more before we get there. Like I said in my last chapter, I'm looking to post more chapters quickly, but it will take a little longer to post my next one than I did this one. So I hope you'll all stick around to keep reading. So without further ado, please read and enjoy!

Coran led Allura to a room in the castle she had never been to before. As the doors opened, it was a simple dark grey room shaped like a circle. The room had no windows or any special features of any kind, not even furniture. It had a computer core in the center of it, but otherwise the room was empty. Allura stepped inside, waiting for something to happen.

“Coran, what is this?”

Coran stood just beyond the door, letting Allura wander around, “King Alfor knew there was a chance he might never see you again. So, his memories, his very being, were stored in this computer for you,” he closed the doors, leaving Allura in the room alone.

Once the doors shut, a sophisticated hologram filled the room. Allura gasped and looked around. It was just like the fields on Altea. The vibrant flowers and tall grass, it was all so beautiful. Above the head of the computer core, a hologram of King Alfor started to materialize. He looked just as she remembered him. For her it had only been moments, even though it was actually an eternity. He was tall and regal, dressed in his white armor and royal cape that hung off his shoulder. A soft smile was discernable through his beard. Even the glint in his eyes that she had loved to see was there as well.

Allura gasped, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she ran up to him, “Father! Father, it is so good to see you.”

“Allura, my only child, how I've missed your face,” he said.

It may have just been a sophisticated hologram, but it was the closest she could get to her father. It was his memories, his being, all stored right here. And even though he was gone now, he still hadn’t left her completely alone. She only wished that she could wrap her arms around him, so that she could feel his warmth one more time.

“I'm so frightened. A Galra ship is set to attack, and I don't know what to do. Please, Father, I need your help,” she begged.

“I would do anything to take this burden from you,” he lamented, seemingly aware of why this tragedy was befalling her.

“I don't know if we should run to preserve what we have or stay and risk everything. I want to fight, but the paladins of old are gone. I know what you would do….”

“I scattered the Lions of Voltron to keep them out of Zarkon's hands. You urged me to keep them and fight. But for the greater good of protecting the universe, I chose to hide them,” Alfor told her.

“I think I understand,” Allura said somberly. Maybe it was the best plan. Preserving what they had would be the best course of action. If they lost now, then the whole universe would be lost.

King Alfor spoke with passion, “No, daughter, you were right. I made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives. Forming Voltron is the only way to stop Zarkon. You must be willing to sacrifice everything to assemble the lions and correct my error.”

Allura looked up at him. She could see the fire in his eyes, the determination. It was the same look he had in real life. The look that told her that he believed in her, and that she could do anything. And he was right. She hesitated in the face of the inexperienced paladins looking for answers, but her answer was still the same. Now was the time to fight.

**VVVVVVVV**

Adam and the others all waited around for Allura to return, wanting to see what she would decide. But if she didn’t come up with something soon, they would have to make a decision on their own. Running away would be the safe bet, but Adam also realized that they would never really be safe if they did so. The best scenario would be to destroy the Galra ship, but that posed its own risks. Adam weighed over the pros and cons, but neither option was significantly better than the other. Although, with the power of Voltron at their disposal, they could protect themselves. That seemed to be the direction that Shiro was leaning towards as well, even though he didn’t take a stance in the fight earlier. He was waiting to see if the princess would agree with that strategy or not.

As if on cue, Allura stormed onto the bridge as she crossed Adam’s mind. But her look was different. She had pinned up her incredibly long hair into a tight bun, and had changed out of her large flowing garments and into what looked like a spandex battle suit. It was actually quite similar to the ones they had back on Earth. But this one was likely more sophisticated.

Allura spoke, standing firm with renewed vigor, “You paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope.”

“We're with you, Princess,” Shiro agreed, smiling with determination.

_Damn you Takashi_ , Adam thought. He agreed that they should stay and fight to get out of harm’s way, but the princess was talking about the whole universe. A battle against an entire alien empire! The kind of battle that not everyone comes back from, and takes years to accomplish. Adam wasn’t okay with that. But Shiro, he was a soldier, and a dedicated one. He was always looking for a purpose in life, ever since they were kids in the Garrison. He wanted to do something that really mattered with his life, so he could make a difference with the time he had left. He had tried to find that in space, but that had ended in heartache and tragedy. But now, here was Allura, offering him the chance to serve as the leader of a team that could change the lives of every living being in the universe. How could he ever possibly walk away from that?

Allura led them down the hall to their equipment room. As they entered, panels on the far side wall opened up, revealing color coded white armor for each of them.

“Your suits of armor,” Allura declared.

“Cool!”

“Outstanding.”

“Oh, neat!”

They all clamored with excitement, walking over to them to examine them. They were excited to be able to wear such futuristic and fantastic armor. Even Keith was excited at the prospect, looking over the plating with enthusiasm.

“Princess, are you sure about this? They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer,” Coran asked, not feeling to sure about her decision.

“No, but they're all we've got,” Allura reasoned.

“I take offense to that by the way,” Adam said flatly.

“Wah! How did you get there?” Coran flung back dramatically, not noticing that Adam was standing beside him the whole time.

“I just stood here. I didn’t go gaga for the armor like everyone else did. Armor is armor. And going to battle is not exactly something to get excited about,” he spoke seriously. He was a little upset, but not entirely about the battle they were facing.

“I agree, but we must fight if we wish to survive,” Allura said, taking note of his reservations as just.

“Then I’d say it's time to suit up!” Shiro exclaimed, looking over at them, apparently having been listening the whole time.

They all fitted into their suits of armor. They each came with a black spandex body suit that acted as underarmor, and the solid plating and pieces fitted over them firmly. Much to Hunk’s relief, the armor stretched to fit and suit each of them. No doubt the wonders of futuristic tech. Allura even had spare suits of armor, one pink and one purple for Adam to choose from. For obvious reasons, Adam went with the purple suit. Not that he couldn’t pull off a pink if he really wanted to, but he was more fond of the purple.

Allura walked over to where the suits of armor had been displayed and pressed a panel on the wall, opening up a drawer underneath it with several hand-held looking tools inside. It was hard to tell what they were supposed to do though as the shape didn’t indicate any kind of use or purpose. It looked like a black handle bar with two curved sides that had color-coded panels on them. They floated out of the case, gliding across the room and settling in front of each paladin. They each took the one matching their color.

“The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each paladin,” Allura told them.

In their hands, the bayards started to glow, transforming in their hands to a unique weapon. Hunk’s turned into a large minigun-like canon. Lance’s transformed into a rifle for long distance attack, and by contrast, Keith’s turned into a sword for close combat. Pidge’s didn’t transform much other than growing a sharp, glowing triangular edge at the end of the bayard.

“Aw, you got a cute little bayard,” Lance teased.

Pidge smacked him with the edge, electrocuting him and causing him to fall to the floor, “Yeah, it is pretty cute.”

“Shiro, I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its paladin,” Allura apologized.

“It’s okay. I'll just have to make do,” Shiro said.

Allura then looked over at Adam, “Adam, your weapon is also a bayard, but not in the traditional sense.”

“Meaning?” he inquired. She walked over to the drawer and closed it, opening a smaller drawer just above it. She pulled out a dark grey bayard that had no particular color, except for glowing orange seams that must have been its power source.

“Your bayard is a prototype!” Coran exclaimed, “It functions similar to the paladin bayards, but it is grossly inferior!”

“Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired,” Adam said sarcastically.

 Allura held out the bayard to him, explaining in more appropriate detail what it was composed of, “Each of the bayards was formed with the same material used to make Voltron. It connects them to the lions and their paladins in a profound manner. But in an attempt to create a larger arsenal, my father and Coran built this using only a mere sliver of the same material and combining it with modern technology. It can still transform in the same manner, but unfortunately, they only had time to make the one.”

“Then why not give it to Shiro?” Adam asked, reluctant to take it. If Shiro was the one going out into battle as a paladin, why shouldn’t he have one like everybody else?

Allura sighed, as if she felt guilty about it, “As I said, each bayard takes a distinct shape for each paladin because of their profound bond. In the same manner, each bayard can only fit in one lion. Shiro could use your bayard, but it wouldn’t be his. Only the black bayard rightfully belongs to him.”

Coran spoke, adding on to Allura’s explanation, “Also! Because your bayard is not made from the same material as the others, it is not as durable. We used our strongest materials to create it, so it will still be a powerful weapon when it transforms, but it is still capable of fracturing in its base form. So take extra care! If you break it, it could explode! Or it could create a stasis field that would keep you frozen in time from anywhere to a few dobashes until the end of time!”

“Again, your bedside manner needs work,” Adam said sarcastically, “But Shiro should still…”

Adam was about to object once more, but Shiro beat him to the punch, “It’s okay Adam. I can manage just fine. Besides, I’m going to pilot the Black Lion. You won’t have any weapon at all if you don’t take it.”

Adam saw the calm, but resolute expression on his face. He scoffed and took the proto-bayard from Allura, “Fine.”

As he took hold of it, he felt something. It was like a warmth, pulsing in his hand. Was this the energy that Allura was referring to? It glowed in his hands, changing shape and elongating into a beautifully elaborate halberd. The axehead was a shiny silver, as was the hook on the other side. The staff itself was a dark steel gray, with orange seams running horizontally across the grip. Adam couldn’t deny that he felt a little happy seeing the shape his bayard took. He used to do a lot of staff training back in the Garrison, so this weapon would definitely suit his fluid, but strong fighting style.

“You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship,” Allura told them now that they were all equipped for battle.

“That's a pretty big ship. How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?” Keith inquired.

“Well it's not a matter of ‘we.’ It's a matter of ‘you,’" Pidge told him. Having just bonded with her lion, she had a better understanding of what Allura was asking of him.

“Pidge is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and like track it down,” Hunk elaborated.

Lance chimed in as well, “Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?”

“Yeah. You made fun of me for that,” Keith said bitterly, still not too fond of Lance’s presence.

“And I'm proud of that,” he grinned, “but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo.”

_That’s interesting_ , Adam thought. Each paladin was able to connect with their lion when they got close to it, but Keith sensed the Blue Lion before anyone else ever did. Even before Lance, who was the one that ending up bonding with it. According to Allura, the lions were meant for each them as individuals by matching their personalities and character. And yet somehow, Keith was drawn to Blue. It wasn’t like him and Lance had any similarities in personality, not in the same way Adam and Pidge did that allowed her to take the Green Lion in his place. So why was Keith able to sense the Blue Lion? Was it because he had been living nearby it for so long? Had he just picked up on the waves of energy that emitted from it?

Allura approached Keith, “Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect.” Keith nodded. That sounded very fitting for him.

Shiro moved out in front to address the group, “All right. Here's our plan of attack,” Everyone immediately turned to him for guidance. He was such a natural leader, and would have been a commander if not for his passion for exploring the stars, “The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too. Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up. While Sendak is distracted, Keith, Pidge, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Green Lion.”

“I’m going too,” Adam stepped forward.

“Are you sure?” Shiro said uncertain. Now that he and the others back, Adam had no obligation to help retrieve the Red Lion. And considering his fears regarding space, this would probably be a nightmare for him.

“You said you trust me, right?” Adam countered, making his determination known, “I promised I’d help you get the lions. You need them all if you’re gonna lead this team and take out that ship. Until then, none of us are safe.”

Shiro nodded, “Alright. Keith and I will find the Red Lion while Pidge and Adam guards our exit. Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon.”

**VVVVVVVV**

They followed the plan as Shiro had described. Lance and Hunk were pretending to give themselves up, which gave Pidge, Adam, Keith, and Shiro the opportunity to sneak on the ship. Luckily, Pidge’s lion had the unique characteristic of being able to cloak itself by turning invisible. Apparently, each lion had their own strengths and attributes. Allura had said the Red Lion was the fastest, and Hunk’s Yellow Lion was the most durable. It would be interesting to see what qualities the Black Lion and Blue Lion had to set them apart.

Adam sighed, his nerves starting to get ahold of him now that they were about to descend into the belly of the beast, “This is a suicide mission.”

“Only if we die,” Shiro quipped nonchalantly. Adam turned to him, seeing the playful look on his face. He missed hearing that dark and sarcastic sense of humor that only Shiro could pull off so well. It actually set him at ease a little. But if anyone should have been terrified right now, it was Shiro.

Once Pidge snuck the Green Lion inside one of the hangars of the Galra cruiser, they all departed out into the halls, bayards at the ready in case they ran into any guards. They key here was to be as stealthy as possible so they could get in and get out. It wouldn’t be long until Lance and Hunk would have to give up their little ploy.

“Pidge, what's your ETA?” Lance asked, his voice coming through over the comms in their helmets.

“We're in,” she replied.

Crouching down behind a hallway corner to see if the coast was clear, Shiro suddenly grunted, his face scrunched up as if he had a massive headache. After a moment, his eyes flew open with realization, looking around the corridors of the Galra ship.

“I've been here before,” Shiro said, “After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here.”

Pidge spoke up excitedly, “So, that means your other crewmembers, they might be held captive here. We... We've got to rescue them!”

Shiro thought for a moment. It was obvious that he wanted to help the others on his team, but he merely shook his head, “Pidge, we don't have time. We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus.”

It was a tough call, and a hard truth. In battle, sacrifices had to be made, and taking a detour to rescue the rest of the Kerberos team would only put their plan at greater risk than it already was. Those were the kinds of decisions that could break a person. But Shiro had the strength of character and responsibility to know what needed to come first.

“But we can't just leave prisoners here!” Pidge argued.

Shiro sighed, “Look, no one understands that more than me, but, in war, we have to make hard choices,” he said, almost mimicking Adam’s thoughts exactly.

“Besides, there’s no telling if this is even the same cruiser. This could just be one of several,” Adam added. If the Galra really did have as much influence and control as Allura claimed, they could easily have hundreds of these ships.

“Let's get moving,” Shiro said somberly, placing a hand on her shoulder to urge her to let it go.

Pidge smacked his hand away, growling at Shiro, “No! Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos Mission with you!”

Shiro was taken aback, “Commander Holt is your father?”

Adam gasped. How could they not see it before? Pidge was the spitting image of Matt when he was younger! She was smaller, and Matt had long stopped wearing glasses, but they were so similar it was striking.

“Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close. I won't!” she yelled. Her determination struck a chord with Adam, and pulled at his heart. She had done so much just to get this close to her family, to save the people she cared about. It was something Adam could relate to, but the difference was that he had already failed in the past. He wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to her.

“I’m coming with you,” Adam told her.

“No, I will,” Shiro said.

“What?” Adam turned to him in surprise. That wasn’t the plan.

“I remember where the prisoners are held. You and Keith go find the Red Lion,” he said. His logic was sound. Shiro would be able to find the prisoners much faster than Adam could, and if they were going to take this little detour, speed was a necessity.

“We’re doing this ourselves?” Keith asked. Keith seemed a little disappointed. It was clear that he had come to depend on Shiro for support, and going without him wasn’t something he was excited about. Adam could understand that feeling as well.

Shiro smiled confidently, “Minor change of plans. You'll be fine. Just remember, patience yields focus,” Pidge opened up a door next them, ducking inside. Shiro nodded at them, “Take care.”

He followed behind Pidge, leaving Adam and Keith behind. Adam gestured for Keith to lead the way since he was the one that was supposed to have the connection to the Red Lion. Keith ran down the hall in the opposite direction of Shiro, Adam hot on his trial. They stopped at the edge of a hallway when they heard footsteps, both of them ducking behind the corners of the hall as several Galra soldiers walked by.

Keith panted, “Great. Now, which way?”

A deep vibration rocked through the ship, and they could hear even more footsteps run by them.

“I guess the jig is up. Lance and Hunk must be fighting the Galra,” Adam looked over at Keith, “We’re running out of time.”

**VVVVVVVV**

Back on the ground, Allura and Coran worked on getting the castle back in functioning order. She stood on the bridge, placing her hands on the two control panels, “Particle barrier up!”

A giant orange globe began to form around the castle, but then it sputtered out and disappeared.

Coran ran over to one of the control consoles and pried it open, looking inside, “All the barrier crystals are out of alignment.”

“We have to fix it immediately. Without the particle barrier, we'll be defenseless,” Allura rushed over to his side, seeing how she could help.

“We're both too big. What can we do?” He gestured to the small opening. It was a narrow access panel that was just large enough to see in, but too small fit a hand inside.

Allura heard a faint squeaking coming from behind her, seeing the colorful Altean mice standing at attention behind her. She picked them up in her hands.

“The mice!” She said as if they were the answer. She dropped them into the panel and they quickly crawled inside, pushing the crystals back into place where they belonged.

“How do they know how to do this?” Coran asked surprised, watching them intently through the open panel.

“I can hear them talking to me. I think our minds are connected. It must be from sharing the sleep pod for 10,000 years,” Coran looked perplexed. It was a little hard to believe, but such an event or experiment had never been tried like this before. He could work out the science of it later, but right now it was just fortunate that the mice were able to help. They climbed out of the panel, squeaking happily as the particle barrier reactivated and covered the castle in an orange dome.

Allura bowed gratefully, “Thank you, friends.”

She heard Coran grunting and looked over to see him staring at the mice with intense concentration while holding the sides of his head.

“Coran, what are you doing?”

“I'm trying to get them to make me a sandwich!”

**VVVVVVVV**

Keith and Adam reached the end of another hallway, coming across yet another fork in their path. No matter which way they went, it felt like they were running around in circles. There were no distinguishing features on the ship, and all the signs with directions were written in an alien language, making them completely useless.

Keith groaned, “You've got to be kidding me!” he spat out in frustration, taking a moment to catch his breath before figuring out which way to go now.

“Keith, remember what Shiro said,” Adam said reassuringly. Keith was at risk of letting his emotions overtake him, and that just wouldn’t do. He needed to stay calm, and Shiro trusted Adam to look out for him. Also, if Keith was going to tap into the sense needed to find his lion, then staying calm was probably the best way to do that.

“Patience yields focus,” Keith agreed, letting Shiro’s words set his mind at ease. He took a deep breath, standing still for a moment. It was almost like he was mediating, tapping into a part deep within himself. Adam wondered, if he had been exposed to the Blue Lion’s energy ever since he left the Garrison, could he have developed the ability to sense them? Should he add ‘sixth sense’ to the list of things he believed in now? Keith stood motionless, until like a light switch something seemed to click inside of Keith’s mind and he turned around, “Gotcha,” he smirked, taking off down the hall they had just come from. Adam followed closely behind, pondering what made Keith so special.

**VVVVVVVV**

Pidge and Shiro continued their path toward the prisoner cells. Running up to a fork in the road, a floating machine came down the hall toward them. It was a small, pyramid shaped robot with a glowing red light at its center, which must have acted as its eye. It saw Shiro and Pidge and hovered, its eye blinking while it scanned them. Pidge shot at it with a small electric pulse, causing it to fall to the ground.

“That thing saw us. We should get out of here,” Shiro warned.

Pidge grabbed the small robot and opened a panel on its back, “Wait. I think this might come in handy. I'll just reset the controls…” she fiddled with something on the inside, then popped the panel back on as it lit back up and started to float again, “and it's working for us! I'm going to call it ‘Rover.’”

Shiro seemed a little skeptical, but he continued on. The small robot floated closely behind Pidge, as if it was a small dog sticking to the heel of its master. Like a little lapdog that could fly. They turned down the hall where Rover had come from. Shiro and Pidge quickly came up to a door, but it didn’t automatically open like the others. It must have had a proximity lock or electronic code that opened it. There were no panels around to suggest a spot where a password could be entered though. But if Rover came from this way, then…..

Pidge looked over at Rover and pointed at the door, “Open up,” she ordered. Rover floated toward the door, it’s eye blinking and causing the door to respond and open.

Shiro gave an excited laugh, “Excellent, Pidge!” Well, apparently that robot was helpful.

It took only another few moments before they found the prison cells. With Lance and Hunk fighting the Galra and keeping them distracted, something that was obvious from the vibrations of the battle coming from all around them, there were no guards on post to get in their way. Pidge came up to the large holding cell, taking her bayard and smashing it into the control panel. The doors opened, and a large room filled with numerous aliens of various races sat inside. It was hard to see everyone, and Pidge started jumping around and weaving through the crowd.

“Dad?” She called out desperately.

Shiro addressed the prisoners so they wouldn’t panic, “Don't be afraid. We're here to help you escape.”

One of the prisoners stepped forward through the crowd, looking at Shiro with recognition. He had pale blue skin, long ears, and two long whiskers coming from his lip. He seemed to be an old man based on the wrinkles of his skin, but it was hard to tell since he was an alien of another race. Still, he spoke with a voice that suggested years of experience, “It's you... It's you, the Champion,” he turned to the other prisoners, “If anyone can get us out of here, he can.”

Shiro was confused, trying to remember him to no avail, “Wh... What did you call me?” Did he say champion? What did that mean?

Realizing there were too many people to search through, Pidge ran back up to Shiro at the head of the pack, “We don't have much time. Let's get to the escape pods.”

Shiro nodded in agreement. He led the way for them all to follow, knowing the fastest way to get to a shuttle big enough for everyone, “Let's go. Come on!” Pidge followed reluctantly. She so wanted to find her father, but it didn’t seem like he was here. But one of them knew Shiro, so maybe he knew her dad as well? She could find out once they were out of this situation, but they had wasted enough time as it was.

**VVVVVVVV**

Keith came up to a large doorway at the end of a hall, pressing his palm against the control panel and making it open. Inside was a giant open hangar bay. One or two Galra ships were located on the sides of the room. But the most important thing, was the giant Red Lion seated in the middle of the bay, surrounded by a red forcefield similar to the one the Blue Lion surrounded by.

“Bingo! Let's get out of here!” Keith declared triumphantly. He ran up to the red lion, placing his palm against the forcefield, “Open up. It's me. Keith. Your buddy,” Keith spat out gracelessly, waiting for something to happen.

“Seriously?” Adam crossed his arms. Keith sounded so awkward, he’d be surprised if the lion ever let him in.

Keith huffed in frustration, “It's me! Keith, your…. I am your paladin! I'm bonding with you! Hey! Come on! We're connected!”

Adam leaned against the wall, sighing heavily, “Yeah take your time, it’s not like we’re in a rush or anything.”

“I’m trying damn it! Just shut up and let me think!” Keith closed his eyes, trying to focus and feel the bond between him and the lion. But before he could make the connection, he heard a blast whiz by his head and strike the forcefield next to him, “Ahh!”

“Damn! They found us!” Adam spun on his heels, readying his weapon as four Galra soldiers filed into the room, shooting at them with large rifles in rapid succession. He took cover behind one of the Galra ships, his halberd pulled against his chest.

Keith dove behind the nearby control console that was set up in the middle of the room next to the lion, “You were supposed to be watching our exit!” He shouted at Adam.

“Argue later, fight now!” Adam rolled out from behind cover, spinning his halberd to deflect blasts as he made his way toward the soldiers.

“You're not getting this lion!” Keith’s bayard morphed into a rifle, shooting it at the Galra and providing cover fire to let Adam close the distance.

Adam roared, striking the floor with the tip of his halberd, allowing it to propel him forward into the air as he kicked off the ground. He kicked one of them soldiers in the head, its head collapsing and coming off with wires and sparks of electricity shooting from its neck. _A robot!? What’s next?_ Adam immediately thought, but he didn’t have time to linger on it. He was in the thick of battle and had to take care of the others fast. Once his feet hit the ground, he fell into a crouching position on his knees. He swung his halberd to the side, catching the foot of one of the robots with the hooked end and pulling hard. It fell to the ground flat on its back, its gun shooting straight up into the ceiling as it was held in a fixed position in its arms. Adam twisted around and kicked the robot’s arms upward, making the gun it was still firing shoot another one of the robots in the head.

The last robot soldier aimed its gun at Adam’s head. He was about to dive out of the way and counterattack, but before he had the chance, Keith shot it square in the chest several times, making it collapse to the ground in malfunction. Adam stood and stabbed his halberd into the robot still lying on the ground, killing it and making it stop firing. Adam looked over at Keith and nodded in appreciation. He could have easily dodged that last attack and destroyed the robot himself, but it was nice to have someone have his back. Even if it was Keith.

He walked back over to Keith when the door opened behind him again. This time six robot soldiers filed in and started firing. Adam dove to the side, both him and Keith taking cover once again.

“Aghh! We’re outmaneuvered!” Adam yelled. There were too many this time for them to fight back. Keith couldn’t take them all out on his own, and Adam wouldn’t be able to get close enough to fight them with the added gunfire. They needed to think of something fast!

“Adam! I got an idea! Hang on to something!” Keith called out to him.

Adam looked over to see Keith crouch up behind the console, “What are you…!?” Keith slammed a button on the console before grabbing onto it tightly. _Shit!_ Adam took his halberd and stabbed it into the wall next to him, holding on as tightly as he could.

As soon as Keith pressed the button, giant hangar bay doors opened up in the middle of the floor. The force of the oxygen being sucked out into the vacuum of space started pulling everything out with it. The soldiers were pulled out like ragdolls, tumbling across the ground and ramming into each other as they fell out into space. The ships lined up against the walls shifted slightly, rocking from the force of the air trying to pull them out. The Red Lion, which was set right in front of the hangar doors didn’t budge at all, most likely due to its protective field. Adam strained to hold on, waiting for Keith to close the hanger bay doors.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing Keith struggling to sustain his grip. He didn’t have as solid of a grip as Adam did. He was only holding onto the console box with his bare hands. He must not have thought of using his sword to help him stay stationary. If he let go with even one hand to close the hangar doors, he would lose his grip and be sucked out into space. Keith must have realized that because he was struggling to hold on, waiting for the rest of the air to be pulled out of the room.

But then, Keith slipped down to the tips of his fingers, his grip slowly slipping away. His teeth were gritted in frustration, using every ounce of strength he had. Adam’s eyes went wide in realization. Keith was right next to the hangar door! He should have realized the force would be too strong for Keith to hold on. Adam was across the room where the pull was less intense and even he had trouble holding on. Keith lifted his hand up to try and regain a stronger grip, but the momentum was too much and Keith slipped and was pulled out into the darkness of space.

“NO!” Adam kicked his feet off the wall, pulling the halberd free and allowing himself to be pulled out after Keith. Keith was spinning out from the force of being sucked out by the vacuum, but Adam had dived straight out, allowing him to make his way toward Keith quickly. Adam reached out for him, trying to grab ahold of his hand. He wasn’t going to lose anyone else. Not to the cruel depths of space.

“Keith!” Adam called out to him through his helmet radio.

“Adam!” Keith called back, trying to stop himself from twirling so he could reach out for Adam.

Adam grabbed hold of Keith’s hand, being pulled into his momentum as he tried to help stabilize him. They could see the Blue and Yellow Lion fighting the Galra ships around them, and they were drifted out in the direction of the battle. Suddenly, without warning, the Red Lion flew straight at them, swallowing them up in its mouth and closing it to seal them inside.

They lay on the floor of the its mouth, the artificial gravity inside letting them adjust and regain their balance. Keith got up on his hands and knees, patting the floor, “Good kitty,” he gasped out in appreciation. He stood and made his way to the cockpit, “Let's roll!”

Adam lay flat on his back, breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline and literally diving out into one of his worst fears, “I’m just…gonna lay here for awhile,” he huffed, holding a thumbs up as Keith ran up to the head.

**VVVVVVVV**

“Hurry!” Pidge shouted.

They had successfully guided the prisoners out of their cells and to the nearest escape pod ship. Shiro had remembered the fastest route to one from his last escape attempt. As the last prisoners started loading onto the ship, three Galra drone soldiers rounded the corner and pointed their guns at them.

“Halt!”

Shiro felt a tightness in his chest at seeing the soldiers. The tension of the situation, and the need to fight back and protect the others, it pressed at him with a ferocious intensity. The pain in his chest suddenly shot through to his head, and he collapsed to his knees, his hands clutching at his helmet as flashes of memories poured through his mind.

“Shiro? Shiro, what's wrong?” Pidge tried to ask, her hands raised in surrender to buy them a few moments. Her voice sounded so distant to Shiro. Distorted and warped, but after a brief moment, the fog cleared, and instinct took over. Shiro rose to his feet, his eyes snapping open and his robotic arm glowing purple with an unknown energy.

He rushed forward, slicing through one drone with his hand and splitting it in half. The closest drone pointed its gun at Shiro, which he grabbed with his human hand and pushed it up out of the way, the blasts hitting the ceiling. Shiro kicked the legs out from under the third drone, giving him time to stab the one in front of him with his glowing fist and rip out its core. Then he dropped pulled the gun free from its hands as it dropped to the ground, shooting the last drone on the ground.

“Thank you, Shiro,” the old man said as the doors of the escape shuttle closed and departed, snapping Shiro out of his stupor and back to reality.

“Wait! How do you...?” Shiro tried to call out to him to no avail. It was obvious that alien man knew who Shiro was, but he even knew his name! He would need to find him once this attack was over. He had questions for him that might be able to help fill in the gaps in his memory.

“Shiro, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight with that?” Pidge asked, directing her attention at his arm.

Shiro looked up at his hand, the color returning back to normal and no longer glowing. The way he used it suggested so much practice and training. It was just instinct, and so natural. Shiro was a skilled fighter from his training at the Garrison, but the way he moved, it was combat specifically tailored to his robotic hand. And that was something he had never trained for back on Earth, “No idea,” he admitted.

Hunk’s voice cut in through their helmet radios, “Pidge! Kitty Rose has left the stage!’

“Let's get the heck out of here!” Lance screamed.

Pidge and Shiro nodded at each other, making their way back toward the Green Lion. They had no time to delay.

**VVVVVVVV**

Lane and Hunk had fought and managed to damage the Galra Cruiser to give them time to retreat back to Arus. Hunk had caused some damage to their giant ion canon, meaning they wouldn’t be able to strike them from a distance for a short while.

Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance all gathered their lions in the giant castle hangar bay. They surrounded giant bay doors, and the lions all roared, making the door glow and slide open. Behind it was the Black Lion, giant and commanding. It was a little larger than the other lions, and it had giant red bars attached to its back, kinda like the spines of wings.

Shiro walked between the lions and up to Black. Its eyes glowed with recognition and roared, rising to its feet and lowering its head to allow Shiro inside. There was no hesitation from Black at all in recognizing him as the leader, and that wasn’t the least bit surprising to Adam. He stood back with Allura and Coran, watching as Shiro took hold of his new responsibility. Adam felt a rush of pride at Shiro being recognized for his strength of character, but also, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. This new destiny threatened to take him away from Adam once again, maybe forever.

As the pain began to weigh heavily on his heart, the alarm began to blare once again.

“Oh, quiznak!” Coran rushed over to the nearest control terminal, “Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere!”

“We need Voltron now!” Allura declared. Her and Coran made their way back to the control bridge, Adam following behind. He lingered for a moment, watching as the Black Lion rose to its feet, leading the pack as it ran outside of the castle.

Running back up to the bridge, they could see the giant Galra ship floating high in the sky above the castle. Without warning, a giant laser blast shot out from the ship and struck the particle barrier. The vibrations of the blast shook the castle, making them stumble. Thankfully, the barrier was still holding strong. Adam looked out over the observation windows, seeing the lions phase right through the barrier and run across the desert plains just below the castle. Small Galra ships began flying out of the large cruiser, focusing their attacks on the lions.

“Man, those Galra guys repair things fast!” Hunk called out through his comms radio, which was broadcasting inside the castle bridge for them to hear. He dodged a blast from one of the ships, smashing it with the side of his lion into the ground and making it crash and explode.

Coran was fiddling with the console controls, most likely trying to divert energy to their defenses, “The barrier gets weaker with every blast. Once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless!”

“I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!” Allura stood back at the center podium, focusing her energy and summoning gun turrets outside the castle that began firing at the small fleet of ships.

It diverted their attention away from the lions and allowed them to regroup. Pidge jumped up and grabbed one in the mouth of the Green Lion, chomping down on it and tossing it across the desert where it blew up. Keith’s lion fired blasts from its mouth, taking out two on his way toward the others.

Shiro slashed at one of the ships, knocking it out of the way and taking lead in their formation once again, “Listen up, Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?” Shiro called out. He never needed to say much, but his voice carried a weight that inspired motivation. They all nodded in agreement, following closely behind Shiro.

“I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?” Hunk asked, breaking the motivational momentum.

“Yes!” The others answered in exasperation.

“Let's do this!” Shiro said, ignoring the awkward break in conversation.

They continued running for a moment, waiting for something to happen when Lance finally asked, “Uh, how?”

Shiro sheepishly replied, “Good question. Does anyone have any ideas of how to form Voltron?”

“I don't see a ‘combine into giant robot’ button anywhere on my dashboard,” Hunk said.

“This is insane! Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?” Pidge asked, dodging a blast and firing back.

“We've got to do something!” Keith yelled.

“Combine!” Hunk slammed into Keith, knocking his lion down into the dirt.

“Hey!” Keith yelled out in irritation.

“Okay, that didn't work,” Hunk said casually.

“What the hell are you guys doing out there!?” Adam’s voice cut in. He was watching them run around dodging blasts and fighting back, but now they were just hitting each other like a bunch of idiots. Where the hell was this freaking Voltron already!?

“Quickly, Paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!” Allura groaned as another blast from the ion canon struck the castle. The blasts took time between each shot, but they couldn’t handle much more. Based on how Allura looked, they could handle maybe two more shots.

“Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll combine. Take off on my cue. One, two, three!” They pushed off the ground and flew in a standard fighter jet formation, Shiro at the head. The circled up, going higher and higher, but nothing was changing.

“Come on, come on!” Lance called out.

Shiro grunted, “Nothing's happening.”

“Hey, wait, wait, wait! I feel something!” Pidge yelled.

“I do, too. I feel it. It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!” Hunk shouted with excitement.

“Uh, guys, I think I know why. Look up,” Shiro told them. They turned up to see the giant Galra Cruiser floating above them, a magenta ray of light shining down on them. It was a tractor beam pulling them in. All that work, and they were about to be captured without even accomplishing anything!

“What the cheese!?” Lance whined, trying to pull back from the Galra’s pull.

“Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!” They all turned to try and get away, but the strength of the tractor beam was way too strong. If they had more distance maybe they could have gotten away, but they had gotten to close within range.

“TakaAHHHHH!” Adam’s cry was cut off as the castle was struck once more, the castle shaking intensely. Allura collapsed onto her hands and knees, the particle barrier falling and leaving the castle completely vulnerable to attack. The Galra Ion canon began charging back up. The next blast would take down the castle, and the lions were about to be captured. They were all about to die or be taken prisoner.

Shiro grunted, “No!”

“I-I don't care what you say, Shiro. I'm panicking now!” Hunk started screaming.

“It can't end here!”

“This is it!

“It's been an honor flying with you boys,” Keith lamented through a strained voice.

Adam stood there, listening to their cries of defeat. It was all about to end, and Adam was about to die on an alien planet. Everyone was going to die. And there was nothing he could…….

NO! He couldn’t let this happen again. He couldn’t let everyone down! Adam ran over to Allura, demanding answers by asking the one question no one had bother to ask, “How do they form Voltron!?”

“They.. they must feel the bond with each other, li…like they do with their lions,” Allura strained out. Adam nodded. He knew what he needed to do.

Adam ran back over to the console and pushed Coran out of the way, pressing the button that linked him to Shiro’s helmet radio, “Shiro! You have to listen to me. You are the best fighter pilot in the entire Garrison, and you are a born leader. If anyone can form Voltron, it’s you! Allura and Coran believe in you. Those cadets believe in you…. And…. I believe in you!” Adam felt like he was laying his soul bare, but if he was about to die here anyway, he might as well not hold anything back, “You are capable of so much. So just ask yourself, why do you want to be a paladin!?”

Adam’s words rocked Shiro to his core. He closed his eyes, mustering up his strength and determination, and calling out to the others, “Paladins! We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope! Everyone is relying on us. We  _can't_  fail! We  _won't_  fail! If we work together, we'll win together!”

They all cried out in agreement, and as they were about to be pulled into the Galra’s hangar bay, they felt the pull of Voltron pushing them together.

The ion canon was almost completely charged, ready to fire any second. Adam, Allura and Coran braced themselves for the hit. At the very least, hopefully Shiro and the others could get away _._ Just as the canon started to fire, something smashed into it, causing it to explode and cover the ship in a cloud of smoke.

Adam and Allura gasped, looking back up at the screen and waiting with bated breath to see what had saved them. Coran zoomed in on the canon and projected it on the giant holographic screen. _Come on, come on_ , Adam thought with anticipation. As the smoke began to lift, they could see the shape of a large robot standing on the Galra ship, its fist punched into the side of the canon. They did it!

“We formed Voltron!” Pidge exclaimed.

“I'm a leg!” Hunk cheered.

“How are we doing this?” Lance asked bewildered.

Shiro spoke up, his voice filled with excitement, “I don't know, but let's get this cannon!”

Voltron grabbed the ion canon and began to pull it upward, ripping it off the ship. The ships other defenses started activating, firing turrets at Voltron, but the blasts had little to no effect. They tore the canon from the ship before swinging it back down like a club and striking it over and over again.

They flew around, smashing the turrets and guns, and striking key points like the engines. Eventually, the ship started exploding all over as a chain reaction from their attacks, and the ship started to crash and burn. The paladins flew up high, and with one last strike they all roared and dove down to pierce right through the heart of the ship with the entirety of Voltron. The Galra ship collapsed and completely exploded. They had won, and now they were finally safe. Adam stood there in awe. A giant alien ship was about to kill them all, and in a manner of minutes, Voltron had taken out the entire thing! But in the chaos, none of them noticed the lone escape pod launching off into space.

**VVVVVVVV**

Having defeated the Galra threat, the lions split back up into their separate forms, all of them landing just outside the castle. Adam, Allura, and Coran ran outside to meet them as the paladins exited their lions.

Adam saw Shiro walking out from his, taking off his helmet and wiping the sweat from his brow. Adam couldn’t contain himself, and he ran right up to him, jumping toward him and pulling Shiro into a tight hug, “You did it!” he cheered.

“Ahh…” Shiro gasped, a little surprised and flustered.

Realizing he was acting way too intimate given their situation, Adam cleared his throat and let go, stepping back, “I mean…..you did good…” Adam wiped at his nose to cover the blush on his cheeks.

Shiro just smiled sweetly at him. Even when they weren’t together, it felt nice to be close to him, “Thanks.”

The rest of the paladins gathered behind Shiro, and Allura stepped forward, “Good work, Paladins!”

“Thanks, pretty lady,” Lance shot her his signature smirk, to which she paid very little attention.

“We did it,” Shiro said aloud, repeating Adam’s words.

“Heck yeah, we did,” Keith came up and slapped Shiro on the back, bringing his attention towards him.

Shiro laughed, “How did we do it?”

“I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it.”

Shiro turned to Pidge, “We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you.”

Allura spoke a little more seriously, “We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions.”

“Good thing you paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again,” Coran spoke matter of factly. Except, they didn’t know what they were doing. They had literally all just said so. If Adam hadn’t asked Allura how they were supposed to combine, he might not have been able to inspire Shiro to make them all rally together! Honestly, was Coran even paying attention to them?

“We barely survived forming Voltron this one time,” Lance exclaimed. Finally, he was talking some sense now.

Coran went on enthusiastically, “And you only had to fight one ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe.” Yeah, Coran was definitely not Adam’s favorite person right now.

“Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it,” Shiro lamented, letting the title wash over him.

“Eh, needs work,” Adam quickly dismissed, dashing Shiro’s cheerful prospect. Adam just smirked and winked at him, “But I’m sure I can come up with something better.”

Shiro was a little stunned, and maybe a bit uncertain, “So, you’re going to help?” He must have expected Adam to want to go home after this fight. Well to be fair, he had said as much. But what he really wanted was for Shiro to come home with him. He didn’t even want to be in this fight. But he also realized, that he couldn’t lose Shiro again. So he would stay, and watch out for him the way he never could before.

Adam waved his hand, trying to play off the seriousness of his intent as casual, “I just realized that you idiots will probably get yourselves killed without me around. So what else can I do?”

Shiro smiled knowingly at him, “Thank you, Adam.”

A lot of changes were heading their way. Not all of them welcome. But this was they life they were going to live now, and Adam would just have to come to terms with that. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad….or maybe it’d be worse. They would all just have to wait and see. But for now, they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter! Please leave a like or a comment. I'd really appreciate it! If you want to ask me questions about my story or find out when I'll be posting new works, you can follow me on twitter @horrorskit   
> It is where I am most active, so if you want to discuss this story or any of my other works, you can message me there! Otherwise, you can just leave a comment here, because I'd really love to hear from you all!


	6. Some Assembly Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the immediate threats defeated, the team struggles to learn to bond with each other. Meanwhile, Adam questions his place among the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at this. That is all.

Shiro laid back on the chair of the medical bay that Coran had showed them to. Now that things were starting to settle down, Adam wanted to do a more thorough examination on Shiro and his condition. Given his illness, he should have been much weaker now than when he left on his mission one year ago. Yet somehow, he had managed to get stronger. Plus, there was that robotic arm that was doing who know what to his body. Adam was grateful that the castle had a medical wing. There were the rejuvenation pods where they had found Allura and Coran, but this place was meant for more complicated operations and running tests.

Shiro sat on the examination chair with his shirt off while Adam looked him over. He was checking his blood pressure with a device he had found, which was a bit more metallic and futuristic than a normal blood pressure gauge. However, it wasn’t all that different from the ones on Earth, so Adam could still operate it. Apparently, some concepts were universal. Then he took a flashlight and checked Shiro’s pupil responses, while also taking a closer look at some of the scars on his body. He had seen them when they had rescued Shiro from the Garrison, but he didn’t have a chance to look at them properly. But considering how Shiro wasn’t able to take his medication in the year he’d been gone, he wanted to see how well his body healed up in response to trauma.

“You have quite a few new scars on your body,” Adam noted out loud, tracing his finger along as he looked at each one. Some were shallow gashes on his skin that should have been much more severe injuries based on how large they were, and others were so faint that the only sign of scarring was the slightly dark discoloration of his skin.

“Well, that tends to happen when you have to fight for your life almost everyday in an alien coliseum,” Shiro replied dryly. He had a tendency of making light of situations in the strangest ways. Not that Adam minded. In fact, he kind of missed it.

“Same sense of humor I see. That’s good,” Adam said, with only a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He smiled slyly at him, not letting Shiro have all the power in this exchange.

“Just trying to hang on to the parts of myself I still have,” he said, holding up his metallic arm.

Adam eyed him questioningly, “Are you talking about your arm, or your memory?”

Shiro dropped his hand and turned away a little, a look of anguish coming through on his face. He had already admitted that he couldn’t remember everything clearly from his time in captivity, but that seemed to be eating away at him, “Both, I guess….”

Adam sighed. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it. Adam spoke in a calm and reassuring tone, “Don’t be too hard on yourself. What happened was out of your control. And given your situation, you’re bound to be suffering from some PTSD. And memory loss is a common symptom. Your mind is just protecting itself until you can overcome some of your trauma.”

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore then?” Shiro said hopefully, reading into his comforting words and casually sidestepping the issue of his mental stability.

Adam smirked and then patted his shoulder, “Don’t get excited, there’s new stuff.” _Like the fact you want to stay and be a part of this stupid fight._

Shiro chuckled as Adam stood and walked over to the counter, “I see you still have your sense of humor as well. You’re not much dif….Ow!” Shiro yelped out in surprise as Adam had grabbed his arm while he was talking and stuck him with a needle.

“Oh yeah. I can see your time fighting for your life really toughened you up,” Adam replied sarcastically, pulling back on the plunger to take a blood sample.

“Why do you always have to be an ass?” he scowled.

“It’s a gift,” Adam pulled the needle free from his arm and stood up, removing the vial from the needle and storing Shiro’s blood in what looked like a small refrigerator, “You can put your shirt back on now.”

“Huh? But all you did was look at my scars. Aren’t you gonna examine something…. or listen to my heartbeat?”

Adam looked at him with an earnest expression on his face, “You don’t need your shirt off for me to do all that.”

Shiro sighed, “Then why am I shirtless?”

“Does there have to be a reason?” he replied coyly.

Shiro chuckled softly, grabbing his shirt and pulling it back over his head, “Heh. You’re terrible.”

“No worse than you. You can go now. It’s gonna take me a few minutes to familiarize myself with all this equipment and examine your blood. Until then, I’d say you’re healthier than ever.”

Shiro zipped up his vest, turning back to him, “Thanks Adam.”

“Don’t mention it,” he tried to wave him off without looking back at him.

Shiro moved to stand next to him by the counter, staring him down from the side, “I mean it. Thank you, for everything.”

“Right….” Adam met his gaze, caught off guard by how close Shiro had moved toward him. He dropped his head and turned to look at the counter, trying to avoid the intimacy of Shiro’s gaze. _Don’t do that. You don’t get to do that anymore,_ Adam thought. He started fiddling with what looked like a centrifuge, pretending to figure out how it worked as he spoke, “Go on. I’ll catch up later.”

Shiro nodded. There was still a lot him and Adam needed to talk about, but Adam didn’t seem to be in a very chatty mood. So much had happened in the past two days, Shiro couldn’t blame him for being overwhelmed by it all. He was still a little bit in disbelief himself, and he was the one missing parts of his memory! And even though talking it out and getting back on good terms with Adam was something he desperately wanted, there were much more important matters at hand.

**VVVVVVVV**

The next day came relatively quickly. Allura and Coran had given them all rooms to sleep in the nigh before. They were comfortable, albeit a little plain. Kinda like oversized dorm rooms you’d find on a college campus. They were split up into 2 halls, each one holding three rooms for them to divide amongst themselves. Allura and Coran were roomed somewhere else in the castle, most likely in a royal hall or something. It _was_ a giant castle after all, and Allura was technically a princess. Shiro, Adam, and Keith were all roomed in one hall, and Pidge, Hunk and Lance were bunked down in another.

It was still fairly early in the morning when an alarm suddenly started blaring through the castle, shaking most of them from their sleep and alerting the ones already awake. Allura’s voice boomed through the castle on an intercom system, which meant she must have been on the control bridge already.

“Everybody up! Zarkon’s attacking!”

Shiro and Keith darted out of their rooms already fully dressed, Adam following closely behind.

**“** The Castle's about to be destroyed!”

Pidge gasped, darting out of her room. Hunk jolted awake, stumbling out of bed and getting tangled up in the blankets as he did so.

“Go, go, go! We need Voltron now! Hurry! We can't survive much longer!” She called out, waiting for the paladins to arrive. There was no real danger, but she needed to test the response time and reactions of those who were on a path to fight the greatest evil of the universe.

Coran popped up behind her, feeling her performance needed a bit more to draw them in, “You've got to sell it a little bit more,” he pushed her out of the way and began speaking into the intercom, “Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off! Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?” Coran rambled on, acting out with gestures as if it was somehow helping his performance.

“Coran….” she responded flatly, just as the paladins were starting to make their way onto the bridge.

“Oh, yes Princess, I'm listening,” he went on, making it part of his little dramatization.

“It's over,” she tried to alert him to what was going on behind him.

“Oh, I know! If only Voltron had been formed!”

“I guess this isn't an actual attack,” Shiro cut in, folding his arms.

Allura became more serious now that she had their attention, “And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you….. Coran?” she turned to him, asking for the approximate time.

“Seventy-five degrees! Oh, wait, this is a meat thermometer.”

Allura rolled her eyes, turning back to the paladins, “However long it was, it was too long. You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon at any time. Look at you! Only Shiro is in uniform.” As she had said, only Shiro was wearing his armor. Adam and Keith were dressed in their normal clothes, and Pidge and Hunk were still wearing their pajamas.

“Ten bucks he was already wearing it,” Adam quipped, poking fun at Shiro.

“How….?” Shiro started, slightly astounded.

“You used to always put on your tactical gear and exercise in the morning. I know you,” Adam explained before Shiro could ask.

Allura continued, “Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your bayards. And where is Lance?”

As if on cue, Lance strolled in wearing some blue Altean pajamas, a face mask pulled up onto his forehead, and a pillow tucked under his arm, “Good morning, everybody. What's going on?” he yawned.

Adam cupped his hands over his mouth, desperately trying not to laugh. Everybody else was either alert or dressed in their normal clothes. And not only did Lance arrive last, he came in like he had just woken up from a slumber party. The contrast of his casual entrance against the life and death stakes that Allura was trying to fake was absolutely hilarious to him. Maybe he needed to rethink his perspective on this kid.

Allura, on the other hand, was not as amused as Adam was, “Coran and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order. We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed?”

Hunk quickly chimed in to Lance’s defense, “Hey! You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, and eaten goo in some weird castle. It's a lot to process!”

He had a point. Hunk may not have been the bravest, but he had good situational awareness and was the most emotionally caring. It was just hard to see at first underneath all his verbal exclamations of cowardice.

“Well, if I’m not needed, I’m going to go make some coffee,” Adam said, turning to leave for the kitchen.

“What’s coffee?” Coran asked, and at those words, an immediate tension washed over the room.

“Oh no,” Shiro rested his head on his forehead, bracing himself for what was about to unfold.

Adam froze, looking over his shoulder, his voice turning dark and menacing “What did you just say?”

Shiro and Keith stepped out of the way, knowing full well about Adam’s coffee addiction. The man had been in love with it since he was a teenager. Shiro had tried to get him to quit coffee once, and it had ended in a temporary break up and some wrecked furniture. Safe to say, it wasn’t a good idea to not have any on hand when Adam was around. He must have been so preoccupied that he didn’t even consider that coffee wouldn’t be part of the available cuisine in space.

“I’ve never heard of this coffee. Is it anything like booglash?” Coran continued to inquire.

Adam’s eye twitched, and he quickly rushed down the steps, grabbing Coran by the collar and shaking him intensely, “Coffee is life! It comes from a bean and you brew it into a drink from the gods!! Now do you have anything like that, or don’t you!?!”

Shiro sighed heavily, walking over and detaching Adam from Coran, “Sorry about him. I don’t really get it either. Coffee is a bitter black drink that gives you energy and wakes you up. People also usually add milk and sugar to it.”

“What’s milk?” Allura asked Coran offhandedly.

Adam leaned on Shiro, devastated by this revelation, “I’m not gonna make it Takashi! The withdrawals alone will kill me!”

“Well I’m not sure we have anything like that, but we do have a variety of drinks that provide a boost in energy,” Coran offered.

“I just… I need to be alone for a few minutes,” Adam let go of Shiro and drug his feet out of the control room, his head hung low in disappointment. He was being a little overdramatic, but that was par for the course when it came to Adam and coffee.

“Yeah that’s about right,” Keith commented. While Keith was undeniably closer to Shiro, he was more than aware of Adam’s dependence on caffeine from the time they had spent together.

“Please focus!” Allura yelled, wanting to get back on topic, “You must understand the stakes of our mission. Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle has picked up distress beacons from numerous locations. So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe. An attack on your planet is inevitable.”

“Oh, no,” Hunk was the first exclaim.

“Exactly. Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the Castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron so we can begin fighting Zarkon.”

Shiro marched forward to stand at the head of the group, his military training taking over, “The Princess is right. Let's get to our lions and start training.”

“Wait. But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship!” Pidge insisted. After they had defeated Sendak’s Galra ship, the prisoners had landed nearby on Arus. Allura and Coran took them into the castle and put them in the rejuvenation pods. In addition to being cryogenic tubes, they also had healing capabilities.

“Ah, negative, Number Five! I have you ranked by height, by the way,” Coran quickly told her when she looked at him questioningly upon hearing the nickname, “The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow.”

“Wait, shouldn’t Pidge be number six?  What about Adam?” Shiro asked, curious about the number since Adam was taller than most people in the group.

“I only applied the ranking to the actual paladins,” he said matter-of-factly.

“That's right. Now, get to your lions. You must begin,” Allura insisted.

They all nodded and headed out of the control room. Shiro headed straight for the hangar bay, while Keith and the others went to their rooms to get dressed in their armor. Adam was nowhere to be seen. Most likely he was trying to find a coffee substitute in the kitchen. Once all the paladins were dressed, they were ready to train.

**VVVVVVVV**

They lions all marched out of the castle, Shiro leading the pack in the Black Lion as expected, “All right, guys. Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync.”

Allura spoke to them over the comms, “Feel the bond with your lions and your fellow pilots until five become one, and you form Voltron!” She instructed. She had learned a bit from Adam during their fight with Sendak. She couldn’t keep assuming that the paladins knew how to bond just because they had each connected with their lions. They weren’t like the paladins of old that she was familiar with. These new warriors didn’t have the same instincts or training, so they would need a lot of work and explanation.

Everyone cheered as they soared into the sky, eager to recreate the amazing feat they had the day before. They flew higher and higher, leveling out and flying over the landscape. Circling the castle, their cheers diminished as more and more time passed without any success of forming Voltron. Eventually, they had resorted to more ridiculous methods by the time Adam Joined Allura in the control room. He was holding a mug of black liquid and had calmed down significantly since that morning.

“How’s everything going?” Adam asked, as he sipped his drink.

“They’ve been out there for an hour and they still haven’t formed Voltron,” Allura informed him. Allura switched on the comms feed so he could listen.

Shiro was giving a pep talk to the team, all of them sat in a circle, “Feel the bonds with your lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron. Focus. Focus. Is everyone bonding and focusing?”

“Why was this so much easier before?” Lance whined.

Shiro sighed heavily, getting a little frustrated himself, “Let's take a break.”

Adam and Allura appeared on Shiro’s screen, Adam chiming in happily, “Having trouble Shiro?”

“It is a little difficult. We all need to be focused, but not everyone has the same level of training, and I…. Wait. Adam, what are you drinking?”

“Coffee,” he said simply as he took a sip.

“But I thought the Alteans didn’t have coffee?”

“I had a whole case of instant coffee in my satchel bag. All I needed was hot water. Luckily some things are universal,” he took a little swig, “It’s a little bitter, but I can manage with this for awhile until I can come up with a more suitable substitute.”

“You always find a way, don’t you?” Shiro lamented fondly.

“I guess I do,” Adam winked.

Allura spoke up, breaking the tension between the two of them, “Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help with creating Voltron. Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle.”

They all clamored in agreement. It made sense. The stress of the situation forced them all to cooperate, and life or death stakes had the tendency to get people on the same wavelength.

“Perfect! Because I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the Castle’s defenses. This should help!”

Allura activated a switch on the console, and before they knew it, the castle started firing numerous canons and lasers at them from all over the castle. The paladins screamed and panicked, jumping out of the way of the blasts as best they could. Shiro and Keith maneuvered through the onslaught with extreme expertise, only taking the occasional hit. Hunk was taking the most fire, which wasn’t surprising, but it was fortunate that his lion had the most resilient armor. Lance blundered about, but he wasn’t doing terrible, and Pidge was smart enough to dodge by taking cover behind rock formations and the other lions.

“Allura, what are you doing?” Keith yelled out a little irritated.

“Inspiring you!” she replied cheerfully, “I believe in you, Paladins! Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron!”

“Forget this! I'm heading back to the Castle!” Lance turned and leaped for the castle entrance, crashing straight into the castle’s particle barrier just as Allura activated it.

“Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!” Hunk cried.

“You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you? He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!”

“Aren’t you being a little hard on them? They’re not going to get this in one day,” Adam spoke out in their defense.

“They may very well have to. And I won’t live with the regret that I was too soft on them and left them unprepared. They need to push past their limits,” Allura flipped off the comms and walked away from him, going over to assist Coran with repairs.

“Not the first time I’ve heard something like that.”

**VVVVVVVV**

**Several Years Ago**

Shiro sat on his bed, his left arm laid up in a sling. He had a guilty and sheepish expression on his face as Adam fussed over him.

“Damn it, Takashi. How can you be so reckless?” Adam scolded, untying Shiro’s arm to look it over.

“It’s just a sprain Adam. It’s not that big a deal,” he tried to calm him.

“How can you say that?” Adam pressed on his arm, trying to feel if anything was out of place or damaged, “You know even a simple sprain is a lot more serious for you,” Adam applied pressure to his wrist and Shiro grunted in discomfort.

He pulled his hand back, letting Adam grab some bandages, “It’s barely more serious. I just need to take it easy for awhile and I’ll be good as new.”

“I’d be inclined to believe that if you didn’t do this every couple of months. You’re always pushing yourself too hard,” Adam started wrapping up Shiro’s arm, pulling the bandages tight around his wrist to limit the range of movement and reduce the strain.

“You don’t have to scold me like a child Adam.”

Adam’s brow twitched in irritation, “Why shouldn’t I? You clearly don’t understand your own limits!” Adam tied off the wrap and rose to his feet. _I’m just trying to take care of you, idiot._

“I understand my own limits just fine!” Shiro cried. Adam didn’t react, since this was a typical reaction for him. Adam would reprimand him, and then Shiro would get defiant and angry. But as Adam walked back toward the dresser to deposit his supplies, Shiro spoke just barely above a whisper, “I need to push past them.”

Adam stopped in his tracks, stunned by the timidness in his voice. He looked back at Shiro, perplexed, “What are you talking about?”

Shiro’s head was hung in shame, making it hard to see his face, “You know what I’m talking about Adam. You saw my test results,” Adam gasped softly. So that was it. He was…. scared, “My disease is slowly getting worse. I got maybe 5 years or so before I can’t stand on my own anymore. And then it’ll just get worse from there.”

Adam approached the bed, crouching down next to it, “Don’t talk like that.”

“It’s true. Feeling sorry for me isn’t going to change it or make it go away,” Shiro clenched the fist of his injured arm, “That’s why I _have_ to push past my limits. I need to get stronger, and then maybe I can buy myself more time.”

“Why do you need more time? You’re just endangering your health like that,” Adam rested his hand on top of Shiro’s injured arm, making him unclench his fist as he lowered it to rest on his lap.

But Shiro continued to speak up, his voice growing more passionate with every word, “Because there’s so much more I want to do! I want to fly into space and explore new worlds. I want to make a difference, and I want to be able to do it on my own merit,” his voice was solid. Defiant even. He had so much he wanted to prove, even when he didn’t need to. This was the kind of man Takashi Shirogane was. And it was killing him. His expression softened as he looked at Adam, turning his hand up to hold his, “And, I want to be able spend as much time as I can with you.”

That pulled at Adam’s heart. This man, full of fire and ambition, held such a tenderness in his eyes when he looked at him. To think someone so strong, could be so soft and gentle. And that’s why….. he was wrong, “Takashi, you’re very brave and sweet. But you’re also an idiot.”

“What?” Shiro was put off by how seriously Adam said that. Like he was stating a fact.

Adam squeezed his hand tighter, careful not to put too much pressure on it, “You don’t have to push yourself so hard. However much time you have left doesn’t matter, I just want you here with me. Okay? We can figure the rest out together.”

Adam meant everything he said. To say it wouldn’t be a burden to help take of Shiro later on in life would be a lie. But that didn’t matter. As long as they could be together, that would mean everything to him. Adam had so few people left in his life that he cared for, and he didn’t want to lose another. Shiro was someone who was always there for him, even when he didn’t want him to be. How could Adam not repay the favor? He wanted to hold onto Shiro for as long as he could, because no matter how much his body would start to wither away, he would still be the same man Adam fell in love with. And as long as Shiro stayed by his side, that was never going to change.

“I just don’t want to have any regrets,” Shiro admitted. That was something Adam could understand. He nodded.

“Then I’ll support you, but only if you don’t push yourself too hard, or endanger your health. Deal?”

“Deal.”

**VVVVVVVV**

**Present Day**

“Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?” Allura asked Coran as they continued to tinker with the equipment in the control room.

“No, still just 84 percent.”

As they worked, and Adam sipped the last of his coffee, the paladins walked in, exhausted from trying to dodge deadly gunfire and form Voltron at the same time. Excited to see the paladins walking in, as the conditions for letting them back inside was they needed to form Voltron first, Allura spoke to them excitedly.

“You did it! You formed Voltron!”

Keith slumped down into a chair, “No. The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in.”

“What?!”

Coran scratched his head apologetically, “Oh, right. Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors!”

Adam took a fake sip from his empty mug, not letting Allura know that it was his idea to tell Coran to redirect power from the barrier. He understood the intention behind her actions, but he wanted to give them a chance to rest. As if to contradict his intentions, Shiro marched in behind the paladins and addressed them as if they were all still in the Garrison and he was their superior officer.

“What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break.”

“Shiro's right. You should be training,” Allura crossed her arms, not thrilled with how reluctant they were to take on their new roles as defenders of the universe.

“We've been training!” Hunk whined, “When are we going back to Earth?”

“I'm not going back until I find my family,” Pidge declared.

Shiro interrupted them, cutting off their side commentary and bringing their attention back to the matter at hand, “Guys, there won't be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon.”

Adam stepped in, pulling Shiro’s arm to turn him away from the others and speaking quietly, “That very well may be Shiro, but they’re still just cadets. If you want them to progress, then they need a chance to rest and get accustomed.”

“Our training back on Earth is no less intense. This fight is too important to just take it easy,” Shiro brushed Adam off, not changing his stance. He was being more stubborn than usual, and it made Adam wonder if he was projecting his personal expectations onto the others.

“How are we going to fight? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron,” Lance asked, cutting right to the heart of their biggest issue.

“Well, I'm not surprised,” Coran piped up, “You know, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears!”

“Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us,” Lance replied sarcastically, ignoring the strange analogy.

Coran wasn’t fazed by Lance’s tone of voice and went on, “During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and beating Zarkon. You should try working out on the training deck.”

“There's a training deck?” Hunk seemed surprisingly interested. But more than likely, he was excited by the prospect of less intense exercise that didn’t involve being shot at.

“Yes! There are several exercises you can partake in to increase your bonds and trust!”

**VVVVVVVVV**

They all made their way down onto the training room floor. It was a large open platform area with high ceilings and an observation deck just above. Considering that the paladins were still physically capable, and the exercises would be more controlled, Adam conceded to the idea of letting them train. As a medical professional, it was hard not to get involved and oppose anything that would cause them to push themselves too far. He had spent too much time seeing young cadets do the same thing, especially Shiro. But maybe that was the problem. It was possible he was projecting his own overprotection from years of trying to look out for Shiro during his training. For now, it might be best just to let things play out. After all, these exercises would probably be far less severe.

After some setup, the paladins were all lined up on the training room floor, each with a large energy shield equipped on their arm. The purpose of this exercise was to build trust by protecting each other from oncoming fire. Allura assured them that that the ammunition being used was non-lethal, and it would merely eject anyone hit from the training floor. None of them were really sure what that meant, but maybe it was a kind of teleportation blast? Adam and Allura watched over them from the deck, Coran returning to work on repairs.

As the turrets rose out of the walls and floor, the paladins quickly dove out of the way of the gunfire, blocking oncoming blasts with their shields as they were bombarded from all directions. Keith and Shiro were obviously the most agile at defending. Pidge was surprisingly spry as well, her small size playing in her favor. Unfortunately, the opposite was true for Hunk, and he was the first to be blasted out. Once he was hit, the floor opened up underneath him, making him fall through like a cartoon character falling into a pit. The floor quickly closed back up once Hunk fell through, leaving Adam a little astonished. That was a crazy feat of technology, but at this point nothing should be too surprising.

Shiro started barking out orders to line up in a circular formation. It was the easiest and most practical defense. They all got back to back, fending off the blasts with their large shields. Given the oval shape of their shields, they still needed to be alert and compensate for the gapes in their defense. Aside from losing Hunk, they seemed to be doing really well. That is, until Lance and Keith started bickering with each other about not slacking off on defending one another. They both lost focus and quickly went down. More than likely it was Lance’s fault. His self-invented rivalry with Keith gave him some animosity towards him. And Keith? Well he just didn’t like to be pestered, and strike back at anyone who did. Adam knew that from firsthand experience. Still, it was a little amusing to see there was someone besides himself that could get under Keith’s skin like that.

It wasn’t long before both Pidge, and finally Shiro, took their hits and descended into the floor. Adam sighed. It didn’t take a genius to see how well these young cadets were getting along as a team. Shiro was the perfect choice for leader, but he was a relative stranger to everyone but Keith. Lance’s arrogance was his downfall, as was Keith’s irritable personality and inability to cooperate with others easily. Pidge was lacking experience, and Hunk was merely too scared to let himself fulfill the role that he no doubt could with a little more confidence. This was going to take some effort.

**VVVVVVVV**

The day went on slowly, each training exercise having as much success as the last one. They tried navigating each other through an invisible maze test, which resulted in running into a lot of walls.

Then they tried changing pace by building their relationship with their lions. It was a simple nosedive tactic, relying on the bond with their lions to guide them into pulling up at the last possible second. Hunk pulled up way too early out of fear. No surprise there. Pidge did a little better, but was still a safe distance from the ground when she pulled up. Keith and Lance were too busy being idiots and competing with each other, ending with them crashing straight into the ground. Not only that, they even sped up and hit it at full speed. If it wasn’t for their vital signs being broadcast to the castle’s control room, Adam would’ve thought they were dead.

But of course, it was Shiro who really shined, just like he always did. He got quiet as he made his quick descent, and just when Adam thought he was gonna crash, he pulled up into the sky. Shiro had great instincts and a natural intuition for these kinds of things. And if these lions were somehow alive, which was a real possibility considering how Allura talked about them, he also had the empathy and kindness of heart to earn its trust and respect.

“You always find a way to pull ahead of everyone else, don’t you Takashi?” Adam lamented to himself.

Exercise after exercise, test after test, the result was inevitably the same. Keith and Lance were too hung up on arguing to succeed. Pidge and Hunk did well at intellectual based tasks, but fell short at physical ones. Keith and Shiro were best at flight drills and physical training, but Shiro stood out ahead of him. Lance was middle of the pack on almost everything. He wasn’t the best, but he wasn’t the worst at any particular test either. This went on for the whole morning and afternoon. Allura kept pushing and pushing, and Shiro wasn’t doing anything to counter her or take it easy on the kids.

As the paladins reentered the castle from a flight drill, Adam pulled Shiro aside while Allura began scolding the others for their shortcomings. She was coming off a little harsh, but Adam would have to worry about that later. She wasn’t the one on his mind right now.

Adam stopped with Shiro just around the corner near the hallway, “Nice job out there Shiro. You’re a natural at being an intergalactic fighter pilot.”

“Is that a compliment, or sarcasm?” he asked, sensing there was something more to this conversation.

“Really? I know you’ve been gone a year, but you should know me better than that,” Adam joked.

“Okay. Very funny. What are you really trying to say Adam?”

He took a deep breathe, “Look Shiro. You are a natural at this, but you spent years training and pushing your body to its limit to compensate for your disability.

“I know that,” Shiro felt himself getting a little annoyed. Why was he brining this up now?

“Then you should also know you can’t expect the same from everyone else. You and Allura are being too hard on them. They need time to adjust. Not everyone can keep up with you.”

“You did,” Shiro countered. Adam had been by his side for every drill and every mission back when they were just teens in the Garrison, even when it was a little too much for him. But that came from a place of love and devotion. He wanted to look out for Shiro while also staying by his side to support him. But that wasn’t the case anymore, and it wasn’t the same for this rag tag group of teenagers.

“That was different, and things are different now,” he summarized, not wanting to get bogged down in the details of their past.

Shiro didn’t like that answer, his voice rising slightly, “Adam this fight is too important. It’s for the whole universe.”

“This fight barely started 2 days ago!” he countered.

“For me it started over a year ago!” Shiro yelled, shocking Adam and making him take a step back away from him. Shiro felt an immediate sense of guilt wash over him. He had even surprised himself a little. He lowered his head and spoke softly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

Adam cut him off, “No, I’m sorry. I was being selfish. I never considered things from your point of view like that,” he stepped forward again, lightly touching Shiro’s arm as he spoke, “You’ve been suffering through this longer than anyone…. but they haven’t. Two days ago, they were still just kids living a normal life on Earth. They’re willing to fight, but you can’t keep hammering them down with pressure. They need a chance to accept these changes in their life before they can help you. Just be a little patient with them.”

Shiro felt a little guilty. He didn’t realize he was carrying so much weight that he was pushing on the others. He just expected everyone to be as ready to fight as he was, but Adam was right. It was wrong of him to expect the same level of determination.

“Alright. I’ll try and ease up on them, but we can’t stop. We need to keep pushing forward,” Shiro insisted, urging for a compromise.

“That’s fine. Just keep your priorities in check,”

Shiro started to walk back to join the others, stopping at Adam’s side, “Why is it, even after all this time, you have to lecture me like I’m a little kid?” Usually this upset Shiro immensely, but this time, there was a hint of amusement in his voice. It was funny. To think he actually missed Adam’s scolding.

Adam smirked, “Well, you can be kinda slow on the uptake, you know?”

Shiro smiled, walking back to join the others.

**VVVVVVVV**

The next exercise was a non-physical one, which Shiro asked for based on Adam’s recommendation. They were all sat on the ground in a circle, each of them wearing a crown-like head piece on their heads. It was an electronic device that was meant to connect them on a cognitive level. Coran was taking a break from the castle’s repairs to explain its function and guide them through the exercise.

“Now the most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing, Voltron. Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron. So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins. Focus on something that calms your mind,” he instructed.

All the paladins closed their eyes and began to think. Holographic screens appeared in front of each of their heads, showcasing images of what calmed them the most. Keith’s projection was of the desert cabin just outside the city, Lance’s was of a farmhouse, probably owned by his family, and Hunk’s was a regular two-story house. It wasn’t surprising. They were all still kids, and a family home was the most comforting place for them on a psychological level. Shiro’s was a mental image of the Garrison. That wasn’t surprising either, but for different reasons.

Shiro didn’t have much family to speak of. His parents had died in an accident when he was still a baby. He ended up being raised by his grandparents for most of his childhood. But his passion for space and to explore the stars led him to the Galaxy Garrison. Eventually Shiro was accepted and he moved out to pursue his dreams. Ever since he was about 16, the Garrison had been his home. Shiro still kept in touch with his grandparents from time to time, such as conference calls and holiday visits, but he had a new home now. Adam would have liked to visit them following Shiro’s disappearance, but he never knew where they lived. It was heartbreaking to think how much grief they must have suffered alone. Hopefully, Shiro could see them again soon.

Finally, there was Pidge. She was having trouble projecting her thoughts as her mental hologram was mostly just static. An image was slowly starting to come into a view, but it was blurry. It looked like a picture of herself with a smaller younger girl. Maybe another sibling? They had similar features, but the image was far too hazy to be clear.

Coran cut back in with his instructions, speaking in an unusually soothing voice, “Now, focus on forming your lion. Bring your lions together and form Voltron. Keep your minds open, work together.”

Lance cut in, a hint of annoyance present in his voice, “Pidge, stop thinking of your girlfriend!”

Pidge’s image became static again, “I wasn't! Hunk was rooting around in my head!”

“I thought we were open,” he spoke casually, “You can look in my head hole.”

“Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes!” Coran chastised, “Clear your minds!”

Pidge was starting to refocus, but she was struggling. Her mental image was weaker than the others, and Adam wondered if she was reluctant to let the others in her mind. Did it have something to do with her family?

“Pidge!” Lance yelled once her mental image faltered again.

Pidge rose to her feet and tore the electronic crown off her head, “I'm done with this! Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!” She was incredibly stressed, but she didn’t storm off. She was reaching her limit though.

Shiro spoke softly to keep her at ease, “Come on, Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this,” there was a subtle urging in his voice. Not for her sake, but because he himself was getting excited at the prospect of their progress.

Pidge sighed, “I'm just... I'm just tired, okay?”

Shiro instinctively looked over at Adam and then back at Pidge, “Okay. Let's take a break.”

“You have been working hard. Maybe it's time to relax a little,” Coran agreed. Well, at least he was more accommodating than Allura. Everyone moved to the lounge area, and Adam gave Shiro a look of appreciation. It was nice to know that he was taking what he said to heart.

**VVVVVVVV**

After about an hour or two, Allura came storming into the lounge, “What are you doing lying around? You're supposed to be training!”

“Just resting a bit. You know, you can't push too hard,” Coran chimed in cheerfully.

“What do you mean, ‘can't push too hard’? Get up you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!”

The paladins groaned, standing up and following after her. Shiro looked over at Adam, a little uncertain if he should protest or not. Adam nodded, letting him go on with their training. They had a sufficient amount of rest, so it was no issue. But Adam did appreciate Shiro taking a moment to acknowledge him and silently ask for permission. Shiro was only ever in charge of recruiting cadets from high schools, not actually training them. He still needed time to figure out how far he should push these kids and when he should ease off them. It was a little amusing to see.

Maybe Shiro did need him here after all. Allura clearly wasn’t going to ease up anytime soon, but Coran balanced her out well enough. Maybe, he could be Shiro’s balance, if only for a little while. Shiro was naturally kind and compassionate, traits that rivaled his own dedication. It wouldn’t take him long to learn how to handle his team.

Adam followed after the others back into the training room. He stood with Coran and Allura on the observation deck while the paladins got situated. They were all given standard Altean swords instead of their bayards. It wasn’t a bad idea. If they were all using the same weapons, then they could more easily identify other’s strengths and weaknesses. However, that did leave those who weren’t used to sword-based combat at a disadvantage.

“In order to defeat the Gladiator, five paladins must fight as one,” Coran pressed a button and a robotic soldier rose out of the ground. It was tall, and it held a sturdy, metallic staff. Keith and Shiro got into defensive positions, while the others awkwardly held up their weapons in anticipation.

“Wait, so are we supposed to… Whoa!” Hunk screamed, dodging a sudden attack from the gladiator by falling back on his butt.

Shiro and Keith took instant action, both swinging from opposite sides. The Gladiator sidestepped out of Shiro’s reach and blocked Keith’s attack with the brunt of its staff, pushing Keith back and giving him a swift kick to the chest.

Pidge and Lance decided to move in, taking advantage of its focus on Keith. Pidge swipped low, and Lance high, but the Gladiator deflected Lance’s attack and stepped down on Pidge’s blade, pinning it to the ground. It took the end of its staff and slammed it into Lance’s chest, knocking him on his back. Then the gladiator thrusted the staff back in the other direction, hitting Shiro who had been coming up behind him. Not to be forgotten, it delivered a swift kick to Pidge as well to knock her back.

Keith grunted, getting back on his feet, jumping up and swinging down. The robot held its staff straight up, blocking Keith’s attack. Keith kept pushing down on it, hoping to distract it long enough for someone else to get a hit in.

Hunk rose to his feet, screaming like a madman as he charged the Gladiator from behind. The attack might have worked, if he hadn’t been so loud and obvious. The gladiator managed to throw Keith’s weight to the side, knocking him to the ground. Lance, who had gotten back up, tripped over Keith while trying to get back into the fray. And in turn, Hunk tripped over Lance and slammed to the ground.

This went on for several minutes. They blundered about, getting in each other’s way and failing to execute a coordinated attack. At one point, Shiro was the only one left standing, the Gladiator having knocked back the others. This time, however, it went on the offensive instead of just deflecting attacks, charging straight at Shiro. It must have registered Shiro as a more serious threat that it needed to take down.

Shiro braced himself for the oncoming attack as the Gladiator charged at him. But before it reached him, Shiro gasped softly, and his eyes went wide with fear. He looked frozen, unmoving as if he was in a state of shock. Oh no. Was he having a PTSD attack? Adam needed to do something. Shiro was going to get hurt if he didn’t move out of the way. Adam stepped forward, unsure of how he was going to help or reach Shiro in time.

But before Adam could act, Keith jumped in front of Shiro and blocked the attack. Shiro still stood frozen behind him, and as Keith held the Gladiator back, he looked over his shoulder to check on him, “Shiro, are you okay?”

The gladiator stepped back from Keith and spun around, striking Keith in the chest once again and sending him tumbling back, this time directly into Shiro. They collapsed on the ground together, Keith sprawled out over Shiro and ready to defend him from any more oncoming assaults. But as he looked up, the Gladiator stood stationary and unmoving before descending back into the floor.

Allura and Adam strolled onto the combat floor, the others groaning as they picked themselves up off the floor. Adam couldn’t help but feel some doubt about himself. How could he be so useless? Again!? This was a simple training exercise, and Shiro could have gotten seriously hurt. What if this hadn’t been training? It could have been fatal!

But Keith…. He saved Shiro. He kept looking out for him, protecting him, and staying by his side. Back on Earth, he didn’t hesitate to help save Shiro when he crashed down on Earth. Keith looked after him just like a brother would, and it tore Adam up inside. Even now, Keith immediately recognized that Shiro was distressed and put his own safety aside in exchange for protecting him. Why was it that Keith was always the one that was protecting Takashi? Why couldn’t Adam ever be the one to do it? Even if they’ve had their issues in the past, shouldn’t Adam be more important in his life?

Adam was starting to feel a little doubtful about himself. How much had he really helped any of them up until this point? Keith could have easily saved Shiro from the Garrison on his own. He had the skills for it. Adam didn’t even save Keith back when they were on the Galra ship, the Red Lion did. And when the paladins needed to form Voltron, who’s to say that Shiro wouldn’t have been able to pull it off in the end? It was what he was best at after all. So, what had Adam actually done up to this point that could be considered useful?

Allura poke sternly as she addressed the paladins, “That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!”

Adam looked over and saw Shiro still sitting on the ground. Adam made his way over to him, ignoring another one of Allura’s tirades, and checking to make sure Shiro wasn’t hurt or still suffering from his PTSD flash. He took off Shiro’s helmet and pulled out a pen light out of his pocket, checking his pupil responses.

Shiro was about to insist that he was fine like he always did, but they were interrupted by Coran walking in and speaking enthusiastically, “Ahoy, young Paladins! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux!”

Allura conceded to let them eat and Shiro gently placed his hand on Adam’s arm, making him lower the flashlight and silently insisting that he was okay. Shiro stood up on his own and walked past Adam, following the others and leaving him behind.

**VVVVVVVV**

Everyone gathered into a large dining hall. There was a long running table, which was to be expected. Shiro and the others all sat on one side, Allura sitting at the head of the table. Adam joined them and sat next to Shiro as Coran served them plates of green goo. There was steam coming off of it, and a surprisingly pleasant aroma. What was this stuff anyway? It was served for every meal, but it was always different somehow.

“Smells great, Coran. Thanks,” Shiro complimented.

Adam and the paladins reached for their silverware, and as they did so, small slots opened up in the table where robotic hands came out, slapping handcuffs on all of them. The cuffs connected them to each other, only leaving Pidge and Adam with a free arm since they were on the ends.

“Hold the phone!” Lance screeched out, pulling on the cuffs that connected him to both Keith and Hunk. Adam fidgeted with the cuff that bound him to Shiro and Hunk was pulling on Shiro’s other arm as he tried to scoop a spoonful of food into his mouth before dropping it on the table.

Coran began explaining, “I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team. So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day!”

‘Why the hell am I part of this!? I’m not even a paladin!” Adam complained.

“While you may not pilot a lion, your bond with the others will have an effect on how the paladins interact with each other,” Coran said matter of factly. It caught Adam off guard, but he had to admit he was a little bit pleased at that assertion.

Hunk spoke as if he was talking someone down, “Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing.”

Coran just ignored him and continued with enthusiasm, “This one's a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of yalmors!”

“Ow!” Hunk yelped. Lance had reached for his silverware, unintentionally pulling Hunk’s hand and smacking it into the table.

“Sorry,” Lance instinctively reached toward Hunk to comfort him, yanking Keith’s arm along with him and making it fall into Lance’s food bowl, “Ew! You defiled my food goo!”

“It's your fault!” Keith yelled, pulling his hand back, “This is ridiculous.”

“Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?” Allura chided.

“Can't you just give us a break?” Shiro spoke calmly, “Everyone's been working really hard today.” His words held a sense of care and appreciation. He genuinely valued how much effort everyone was putting forward. He caught on to the idea Adam presented rather quickly, and it made Adam wonder what he could possibly contribute now.

“Yeah!” Keith agreed with Shiro as usual, “We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like... like...!”

“Like a bunch of toy prisoners!” Lance finished for him. It amazing that he was talking back to Allura considering his obvious crush. But even more shocking than that, he was siding with Keith.

“Yes! Thank you, Lance!” Keith nodded.

“Seriously?” Adam said. _What a lame comeback_.

“You do not yell at the Princess!” Coran screamed, ironically in Allura’s ear.

“Oh, the princess of what?” Pidge finally spoke up, “We're the only ones out here and she's no princess of ours!”

Damn. That was a much better insult, maybe even a little biting. And it got the response it deserved, as Pidge was smacked in the face with food goo as soon as she finished speaking. Allura was standing and holding out a spoon that she had used to fling it at her. Well, that was a strange response for the princess.

Attached to her side, Keith urged Pidge on, “Go loose, Pidge!” Once Allura threw that piece of food goo, all of Keith’s reservations about holding back went out the window. He handed Pidge his plate of food goo and she scooped up a large piece with her spoon, flinging it toward the princess.

Like a ninja, Coran stepped in front of her, pulling the tablecloth up to block the oncoming attack. He then swung a large ladle of food at them, unintentionally hitting Adam and all the other paladins. It was impressive to see that Coran could move like that, but he had made a huge mistake in hitting them all.

Hunk rose in his seat, wiping the goo off his face, “Oh, it's on now.”

Hunk scooped up some food and launched it from his spoon, Lance and Shiro accommodating the movements he needed to make. Allura ducked out of the way, grabbing a plate of food and ducking behind a chair on the other side of the table. Keith and Pidge grabbed a whole plate and flung it at Coran. Adam scooped up a handful and tossed it at Allura. When she retaliated, he pulled Shiro in front of himself as a shield. Adam snickered, but was stopped when Shiro smashed a handful of food into his face as well. Adam was about to strike back at him, but when he looked up, he saw Shiro laughing at him with such genuine emotion. Adam felt his face heat up a little bit at the sight. When was the last time he saw Shiro laugh like that?

His laughter was cut off by a smack in the face from another scoop of food goo, snapping both him and Adam back to the battle at hand. They grabbed their plate of food, and struck back at Coran and Allura together. Before they knew it, the dining room was host to an epic food fight. Coran and Allura fought valiantly, having the advantage of being able to move freely and duck behind chairs for cover. The paladins had to compensate their movements as they were still tied together in order to dodge and launch attacks.

By the end of it, they were all a mess, the table was covered in food, and the chairs were knocked over on their sides. Allura slumped down into the only standing chair left, exhausted from their activities. The paladins all looked at each other and laughed. It was the first time since this whole thing had started that they had any fun. It was relieving.

“Enough!” Allura’s biting voice cut through their laughter, “Do you see what you're doing? You're finally working together as one!” she perked up on her last sentence, showing some visible pride and enjoyment. It was a nice change from the constant criticism, that was for sure.

“Hey, she's right!” Keith said excitedly, looking at Lance with enthusiasm.

“I actually don't hate you right now,” he said in return.

“You guys thinking what I'm thinking?” Hunk asked.

“Let's go form Voltron!” Shiro boomed with excitement.

“Yeah!” They all cheered.

“Actually, I was thinking dessert. But, yeah! Let's do it!” Hunk chimed in last minute, willing to be just as excited about that.

They got their cuffs removed and headed out to their lions, all of them riding high on their excitement. Once they got into position outside the castle, the paladins were all set to form Voltron.

“Everyone ready to do this?” Shiro asked seriously, hints of anticipation layered into his voice. Everyone cheered in agreement, “Then let's go!”

The lions took off into the sky, flying in formation like earlier. But this time, there was an energy and connection that fueled them. In a manner of moments, the lions took shape, and Voltron was created right before their very eyes. Allura and Coran watched from the control room, listening to them all chatter with enthusiasm.

“I told you I could get them to do it. They just needed a common enemy,” Allura told Coran.

“It's true. Like the old proverb says, ‘A man can be driven to do anything, if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him’,” Coran asserted.

“Doesn’t necessarily have to be woman,” Adam said smugly. He’d had plenty of experience reprimanding Shiro to get him to take better care of himself or accomplish a task. Nothing like a little tough love to get someone motivated.

Coran stared at Adam for a second before reacting, not realizing that he was standing next to him the whole time, “………Ahhhhhhh! Where do you keep coming from!?”

“Coran, calm down,” Allura dismissed.

“Pretty sneaky princess,” Adam said, ignoring Coran once again, “Forcing them to team up against you was a smart move. I couldn’t help but think you were being a little _too_ hard on them.”

“So you knew?” she asked, impressed that Adam seemed to be in on her plan.

He shook his head, “Not at first. Your customs are still alien to us. I thought your hard-up approach to training might have just been how your society worked. But when Coran stuck me in the food eating exercise, that’s when it clicked. There was no need to include me in the exercise because I’m not necessary in the formation of Voltron. You did it to separate our group from yours, making it easier for everyone to team up against you.”

Allura’s features softened, “You are wonderfully perceptive Adam,” she complimented.

“It’s just basic psychology, but thank you, princess,” Adam brushed it off like it was nothing.

“You shouldn’t disregard yourself so easily,” she said, catching him off guard, “Whether you believe it or not, you have an important claim in the formation of Voltron. You have a close bond to at least two of them, and the relationships they have with those outside of Voltron are just as important. They are the foundation for which they can learn to form connections with others and come to trust one another.”

Adam was dumbfounded. Could she be right? Did he really matter that much in the whole of things? Allura brought them the lions, warned them of the dangers to come, and gave them a common goal to form Voltron. Coran guided them, instructed them, and was a pillar of support in their training. It was easy to see how their relationships with the paladins contributed to the formation of Voltron. But…. what about Adam? Did he really have claim to stay here? What did Allura see in him that he couldn’t see in himself?

Coran spoke up, pulling Adam from his thoughts, “With this, we can hopefully strive to improve their bond until they can form Voltron without a second thought.”

“There is more they will need to overcome,” Allura replied pointedly.

“I think I can help with that,” Adam said. Even if he didn’t fully realize what his purpose here was, he could at least try to find one. Besides, there was no way he was going to leave Shiro again, whether he needed him or not.

**VVVVVVVV**

“Man, that was cool! I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight,” Lance exclaimed, walking with the others on their way back from the hangar bay. They did some light training while they were in Voltron before disassembling and returning to the castle for the night.

Adam watched from the balcony of the staircase as they made their way toward their individual rooms.

“Not me. When my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out,” Keith replied. It was kinda nice to see Keith getting along with the others. He was usually so closed off, the only person he ever really let in was Shiro. That came from a sense of trust and admiration, but now he had three others he needed to trust and rely on, and it seemed to be breaking down his walls a bit.

Hunk came up behind them and threw his arms over Keith’s and Lance’s shoulders as they walked, “I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're brothers, man. You know? Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Brothers all the way! I love you guys.”

Adam tensed up slightly at Hunk’s statement, and from his spot on the balcony, he could see Pidge had a similar reaction. She stopped walking, the others continuing without her.

“G-forces mess with your head a little bit?” Keith quipped, finding Hunk’s enthusiasm a little out of character for the larger man. They walked on, not noticing that Pidge was staying behind.

Shiro, on the other hand, could tell right away that she was longer walking next to them. He stopped and turned toward her, “Going to bed, Pidge?” he asked a little concerned. He could tell she was troubled, but he wasn’t sure what to say.

“In a minute,” Pidge reassured him. She turned around and sat on the bottom step of the stairway, crossing her arms over her helmet that she sat in her lap.

Shiro leaned down and rested a hand on her shoulder, speaking assuredly, “Good work today. We're really coming together.”

Pidge smiled appreciatively at him, letting him know that she was going to be fine. But as he walked up the steps, her smile faded away, and she stared up at one of the castle skylights in the ceiling. Shiro’s concern did not waver, and when he saw Adam leaning over the balcony, he conveyed his emotions easily with just a look. Adam nodded, walking by him and down the steps.

He sat down by Pidge, about two steps higher since his legs were so much longer. He could feel her tense up slightly at his presence. That indicated that she was still guarding herself emotionally.

“You did good out there,” Adam complimented, breaking the tension smoothly.

“Thanks,” she replied, but that was all she said.

“You’re thinking about them, aren’t you?” Adam asked. It was obvious what was bothering her. She had been withdrawn all day, and it was interfering with her bonding with the others. She was still worrying about her family, and it was taking up all her focus. That became obviously apparent during the mind-meld exercise.

Pidge gasped lightly and turned her head up at him, not expecting Adam to read her so easily, “How… how could you tell?”

“You know how people say, ‘I know how you feel,’ when really they have no freaking idea how you feel?” Adam looked deeply into her eyes, his voice serious and full of meaning, “I know how you feel.”

The intensity of his gaze made Pidge look back down at her hands, but the honesty in his voice prodded her to open up, “All I want is to find my family. Being part of Voltron, saving the universe, I’m not sure I care about all that. I just want to find my family,” she scoffed, “I feel so selfish.”

“Why?”

“Huh?” Pidge quickly looked up at Adam, surprised that he wasn’t being more critical of her. But his face was neutral, if anything, genuinely curious.

“You want to find the people you love more than anything, and make sure they’re safe. How is that selfish? Because you prioritize their lives over a group of people you just met and an intergalactic war that was never even yours?” He spoke with conviction. Pidge never expected Adam to have a point of view that supported what she was thinking.

“So, it’s not bad that I feel like this?” she asked, wanting to reaffirm his stance.

Adam sighed, “Look, there was a time, long ago, where I could have protected someone I loved very much if I had just been a little bit more selfish. All I wanted was for him to stay by my side, but I conceded and let him go,” Adam took a shaky breath, the memory weighing heavily on his mind, “And in the end…. I lost him. And it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life,” Adam’s voice was gritted, holding back the pain that was flowing in his heart. He looked a little downtrodden, but otherwise he gave no indication of his grief.

“Are you talking about Shiro?” she asked cautiously. It was obvious what happened between the two of them, but somehow, it seemed like Adam was referring to someone different.

Adam shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face as he internally laughed at the irony of his life, “No, but I understand why you’d think that,” He cleared his throat and continued on, “My point is, you should do whatever it takes to save your family, no matter what. And you shouldn’t feel guilt over it. If I had the chance, I’d do anything it takes to go back and save mine.”

“You lost your family?” Was that who he was really talking about?

Adam deflected the question, resting a hand on Pidge’s shoulder and smiling, “I’m just saying….. I’ll support you, if I can.”

Pidge noticed how he had changed the subject. He must not have wanted to talk about it anymore. She decided to let it go, grateful for what he had done for her, “Thank you, Adam.”

He dropped his hand from her shoulder, “You should get some rest before it gets too late. Coran said the prisoners will wake up tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll want to talk to them.”

Pidge livened up a little at that. Hopefully she could finally get answers. “Right. Good night Adam.”

She trodded up the steps, feeling much better now than she had before. Shiro had promised that they would all help her, and Adam supported her wanting to put her family first. This Voltron situation threw a huge wrench in her plans, but at the same time, she was closer than ever to finding the answers she needed. She just needed to follow the leads that were right in front of her.

“Good night,” Adam called after her. He felt better knowing that he had cleared up some of her doubts. She shouldn’t have to feel so much pressure at such a young age. He was glad that he was able to talk her down, but doing so had stirred up some unpleasant memories in him. That seemed to be happening more and more lately. Was that his purpose here? To protect and look out for these kids at the expense of his own pain and suffering? He failed so many times to protect the people he loved before, maybe it’s what he deserved. Maybe he needed to make amends by protecting and saving the lives of others, even if it cost him his own….

**VVVVVVVV**

Deep in the forest on the planet of Arus, Sendak and his lieutenant marched through the woods. They had escaped into a pod with a handful of sentry bots before the ship blew up. When they ejected into space, Sendak redirected the pod to land on the planet’s surface a fair distance from the castle.

“Sir, how are we going to take the castle with just the two of us and 5 damaged sentries?” his lieutenant questioned.

“By exploiting our enemy’s weaknesses,” Sendak reached the edge of a hill and brushed the foliage aside.

“What weaknesses?”

Sendak looked down the cliffs at a native alien species that was going about their daily lives. They were small humanoid creatures with large curved horn on their heads. Their very village was fairly large for the size of its inhabitants, but more importantly, it was a short distance from the castle, “The worst weakness of all. They value the lives of others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm an amateur at this? Because I can. I feel like I was all over the place with this chapter, but I really needed the setup for the more dramatic stuff in the next chapter.  
> Luckily the next chapter of this story is already mostly finished, and only needs a little proofreading and additional scenes. I appreciate anyone who is still reading this, because I'm really terrible at updating in a consistent manner. But I am very excited to start getting into newer stuff really soon. So I'm hoping that I'll at least get better than I am now. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will continue to read.


	7. Fall of the Castle of Lions Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unaware of the tragedy about to befall them, Adam contemplates the value of his relationship with Shiro, and just how much he's really worth to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Adam and Shiro's relationship is a bitch! I took alot of time working out the details, and i hope it comes off the way I intended it. As an amateur, this is probably as emotionally deep as I'll ever get. Either way, I hope you all enjoy! I don't own Votron, because the ending would have been much better if I did.

**One Year Ago**

SMACK! Adam fell back onto the ground, his hand pressed up against his cheek where Keith had just punched him. Keith stood over him, his posture slouched from delivering such a fierce attack, his chest heaving, and his face twisted up in pain and anger. For a kid who just turned seventeen, he hit incredibly hard.

“You’re pathetic,” Keith hissed. He looked so upset, like he wanted to cry out of anger.

Adam just laid there on the ground, holding himself up on his elbows. He was too dazed to truly be hurt by Keith’s words. He was numb. Learning about what happened to Shiro, it made him feel like he was dead inside. The only proof that he could still feel was the slight sting from where Keith had struck him.

“He’s gone Keith. He’s not coming back,” Adam said, his voice weak and tired.

“You’re a real piece of work. It was one thing for you to try and force him to stay on Earth when he didn’t want to, but giving up on him now is the worst thing you could ever do!”

Adam picked himself off the ground, looking down at him. This must have been just as hard on Keith as it was for him. Keith had no family left when Shiro found him, something Adam could relate to. With Shiro’s help, Keith was enlisted in the Galaxy Garrison and had a new direction for his life. He often came by to visit them, seeking Shiro’s guidance and support. And now he was hurting, unable to accept the truth that he was gone. But he needed to, and Adam felt like he owed it to him to be the one to tell him.

“Takashi was very sick Keith. If he got worse while he was up there, then it’s possible that he made a fatal error.”

“Not Shiro. He already told me about his sickness, and he wouldn’t let that hold him down. He was too determined to let it stop him,” Keith stood firm.

Adam was a little surprised Shiro had told Keith about his disease. He may have worn a medicinal injection bracelet, but Shiro was very private about his condition. He didn’t like people to know about it whenever possible, and he hated when others brought it up as a point of contention. Despite himself, he could be quite prideful. It showed just how much he must have trusted Keith to tell him the truth. From the moment he got Keith admitted, they shared an instant connection. And now with how easily Keith took up for Shiro, it was almost like he saw him like an older brother.

“That’s a very nice view of him Keith, but that’s not reality. There are just some things that are out of our control. A lot of terrible things can happen in space, and we just don’t know what could have happened to them up there,” Adam spoke truthfully. He knew better than anyone what it was like to lose someone to the cruel depths of space.

Keith didn’t back down, “That’s right, anything could have happened. You have no idea if he’s alive or not.”

“Keith, he…” Adam started, but was interrupted before he could finish.

“But I choose to believe in him. He’s out there somewhere, and I’m gonna convince Iverson that he’s worth searching for,” Keith started to storm off. He was passionate, but he was living in denial.

“Keith, please…” Adam reached for him, not wanting him to waste his time on fruitless efforts. He knew why Keith was acting this way. Having no friends or family, Shiro was probably the closest thing he had to either of those things in a long time. His fervent refusal to accept the truth was merely a result of not wanting to lose anyone else in his life. Adam sympathized with that, which is why he needed to be the one to convince him of the harsh reality. But Keith just brushed past him, not bothering to listen. He had lost all respect for Adam in that moment.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself Adam. You were right. He would have been safer if he stayed on Earth with you,” he pulled the door open, and right before he slammed it close, he said, “I hope that helps you sleep at night.”

And just like that, Keith stormed off, never knowing the irony of his own words. From that day on, Adam wouldn’t ever be able to sleep peacefully again. He would lie in bed at night, plagued by thoughts of Shiro or tormented by horrible nightmares. Something Keith never knew about Adam was how distressed he was over his past regrets. This moment in particular would haunt him for days to come. However, Keith’s adamant belief in Shiro would also spark a glimmer of hope inside of him. One that would take time before he started to believe it himself, but would eventually be the catalyst to saving the person they both cared about most.

Unfortunately, Keith’s passion would also result in him getting kicked out of the Garrison. Had he been a stronger person, maybe Adam could have prevented what was to come. They weren’t that close, but he should have tried harder to look out for him. Instead, he let himself wallow in his own melancholy and desperation. It was just like Keith had said. He had given up. But for Shiro’s sake, he should have at least tried to be there for Keith, and now he was hated by him. If only he had known the things to come, he would have done things much differently.

**VVVVVVVV**

**Present Day**

It was early in the afternoon when Adam strolled down to the main control room. Allura and Coran were nowhere to be found, but the others were coming in from outside.

“Great job training today, guys. We're really getting the hang of this,” Shiro praised the young paladins as they strolled back into the control room.

“Seriously, how far do you think my lion kicked that broken alien ship? Must have been like a mile!” Lance spoke up excitedly. They were probably practicing coordinated attack strategies, so they were better prepared for future battles. And there was plenty of crashed Galra ships to use as target practice, so it sounded like a pretty smart idea.

“Yeah, that'll come in handy when the Galra challenges Voltron to a soccer match,” Keith said sarcastically, his tone more playful than it had been before. He was starting to warm up to Lance and the others after their bonding experience yesterday, and it was beginning to show.

“Hey, I did something cool and you can't handle it. I get it,” Lance shot back smugly.

“Your kick ruined our attack formation,” Keith countered.

“Well that was Hunk's fault. He swerved into me!”

“Hey!” Hunk whined, getting worked up over being thrown under the bus.

“Alright, save your energy for fighting Zarkon,” Shiro spoke up, enthused by the team’s increased vigor, but still wanting to keep them focused.

Adam raised an eyebrow as he joined in the conversation, “Oh really? You’re one to talk Shiro. I seem to recall needing to carry you to bed on several occasions because you were too exhausted from pushing yourself in training,” he teased.

“Adam…” Shiro responded with a whine of embarrassment, that was also a little bit of growl telling him not to share anymore personal stories. Adam chuckled, happy to undermine Shiro’s authority, even if it was just a little bit.

“Oh dang! Adam got him good!” Lance exclaimed, both entertained and impressed by the little exchange.

Keith scoffed, “It was just a cheap shot. Makes sense you’d enjoy it, since it’s all you can do.”

“You wanna go mullet head!?” Lance yelled, getting in Keith’s face.

“Bring it on!”

Shiro sighed, “Adam, look what you started.”

Adam smirked and patted his shoulder, “Relax. This is good for them. Trust me.” There was nothing wrong with a healthy rivalry. From a psychological standpoint, it would increase their respect for each other and make them better fighters.

At that moment Coran walked in, chipper as usual and addressing the room, “Hello, guys! How was the workout?”

Happy for the distraction, Shiro turned his attention to him, “We're getting there. Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet? I feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus.”

“Ugh,” Adam grunted in dissatisfaction, walking over to lean against the wall.

After they had defeated the Galra Cruiser, Allura and Coran noted that one of the castle’s abilities was to leave the planet and launch itself into space. Adam would have thought that was crazy, if crazier things hadn’t been happening left and right. And it did make sense. Allura had told them about how Zarkon had destroyed her entire planet, so it didn’t make much sense for an Altean castle to be on another planet unless it could fly. _Yeah, flying castles. That’s what makes sense!_ Adam quipped to himself.

Futuristic space technology aside, Adam wasn’t exactly thrilled about their entire base of operations traveling through the cosmos. Although, he did feel more comfortable in an entire castle than he would in just a standard spaceship. He could take comfort in the numerous defenses this place offered to help him cope with his anxiety. So while he was still making peace with it, he couldn’t quite hide his disdain.

“We’re just about ready!” Coran answered, “In the meantime, I made you guys an authentic ancient paladin lunch!”

Coran pulled out a plate from behind his back and held it up, showcasing some kind of blue clusters that were steaming.

“Coran, you just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?” Hunk exclaimed.

“This is packed with nutrients,” Coran happily stated, holding up the plate for Hunk to observe.

“Oh, it smells disgusting!” he pinched his nose, backing away once Coran held it up.

“I know! That's how you know it's healthy!”

Sometimes Adam wondered if Coran was a little too carefree. Hunk merely shook his head and went off to the kitchen to find an alternative source of food. Keith and Lance, who had still been butting heads in the background, walked off to the training floor to spar and work off some of their tension.

“Where's Pidge?” Adam asked, finally noticing that she was absent from the group.

“She flew down to the crashed Galra Cruiser,” Shiro told him, “Pidge thinks there might be prisoner logs stored in their computers that could give her a lead on her family. That’s assuming any of the tech still works though.”

“She went alone?” Adam asked a little concerned. She was the youngest member of the group, and while she may have been a paladin, there could be hidden security measures or traps that were still active on the ship.

“I offered to go too, but she insisted on doing this herself,” Shiro said, picking up on his concern, “She took Rover with her though.” That was a little reassuring. Since it was a reprogrammed piece of Galra tech, it would most likely deactivate or help her avoid anything potentially harmful.

“Number 5 should be back soon. The prisoners will all be waking up in the infirmary anytime,” Coran added on.

“Number 5?” Adam asked aloud, not having been present when Coran assigned their number designations.

“Coran’s nickname ranking system so he doesn’t have to learn our real names right away,” Shiro responded.

“Right,” Adam turned his attention back to Shiro, “Well, if you have the time, I want to talk to you about your blood results.”

Without warning, Coran came up next to Shiro with a spoonful of food, holding it in front of his face and whishing it around like he was feeding a toddler, “Open the hatch. Food lion coming in!”

Shiro groaned, gently pushing Coran’s arm out of the way as he started to walk with Adam, “No. Just... no.”

“You don't know what you're missing!” Coran yelled, taking a bite himself and immediately looking like he was going to vomit.

Adam just laughed softly, “Haha. Nice to know I’m not the only one who treats you like a child.”

Shiro crosses his arms and scowled, “You know I don’t appreciate that.”

“But you’re only 6,” Adam cooed, pinching Shiro’s cheek. It was easy to make fun of him since he was born on a leap day.

Shiro smacked his hand away, “I regret telling you when my birthday is.”

**VVVVVVVV**

Shiro followed Adam into the medical office, leaning against the examination chair he sat in before, “Give me the news Doc.”

Adam did a half laugh, half scoff, “Funny. Alright, go ahead and take off your shirt.”

“Ha, I’m not falling for that again,” Shiro waved him off, “So, how are my results looking?” he asked curiously, putting an end to their playful banter.

“I’m just finishing them up now,” Adam told him, taking a blood slide and examining them under an oddly shaped microscope, “Hmm. I was right.”

“What is it?” Shiro asked, unsure if there was something wrong with his blood, or if Adam just didn’t know how to use the medical supplies in here.

Adam’s focused intensified on the sample he was examining, speaking as he kept his nose pressed to the scope, “There’s a substance here in your blood that I can’t identify. But… It looks like it’s suppressing your condition just like I theorized.”

Shiro shook his head, bewildered and confused, “I don’t understand. Does that mean I’m cured?”

“No. Your disease is still prominent in your blood, but this substance seems to be stalling the effects,” he moved away from the sample, looking over at Shiro seriously, “Based on what I can tell, it’s accelerating the regeneration of your cells.”

“But, where did it come from?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say your arm is providing the supplement,” Adam said, gesturing toward Shiro’s mechanical extremity, “I can’t say for sure, but I had my suspicions. Some of the scars on your body should be way more severe based on their size and the impact area, but most of them are shallow and have healed smoothly. And since you couldn’t take your medication while you were a prisoner, your arm is the only new variable to your biology.”

“So, you think it’s healing me?” This was crazy. Shiro was having a hard time wrapping his head around it, but at the same time, how could he argue?

“More or less. What I don’t understand is why the Galra would bother doing this for a prisoner,” Adam noted.

That was bothering Shiro as well. His sudden memory loss was frustrating. The prisoners recognizing him, his ability to fight with his mechanical arm, the title ‘Champion’; it was all bearing down on his mind like an unsolvable puzzle. Just who was he before he crashed back down on Earth?

“I don’t know. I wish I could remember, but all I have are pieces,” Shiro held his mechanical arm in his human hand, uncertain why he had been given this feat of technology, “So, how much time is this going to give me?” he asked. If this arm was really healing him, then it stood to reason that it would give him more time before his body started to atrophy.

Adam sighed, grabbing his necklace and fidgeting with it while he thought. Shiro took notice of that. And obvious sign that he was nervous, “I can’t really say for sure. If these changes to your blood remain consistent, it will give you several years before your condition starts to deteriorate again.”

At those words, Shiro suddenly felt lighter. The pressure that had been pressing down on him since he was a teenager seemed less intense. He couldn’t help but feel a little excited, albeit a little dazed, “I…I don’t know what to say. I always wanted more time to live my life normally, but now that I have it, I’m not sure how I feel.”

“It’s a dramatic life change. It’s okay if you’re overwhelmed,” Adam said comfortingly.

“I guess, I’m giddy,” Shiro settled on, his face brightening up, “With this extra time, I can be a part of Voltron for a long time. I can help to liberate the universe and save people. I can make a difference,” Shiro clenched the fist of his mechanical arm, making a statement to himself and thankful that something so wonderful had come out of the pain he suffered through.

“I see,” Adam shifted to look over Shiro’s blood results again.

So that’s what was important to Shiro. Space. The mission. It was just like before, except now there were no qualms about it. Adam should’ve figured really. It was always Shiro’s dream to travel the stars and make a difference in the world. And now being a part of Voltron, he had a chance to do all of that. And Adam just told him that he could do it for even longer than he ever expected. How could he not be over the moon?

But what was surprising, was how much Adam felt hurt over Shiro’s choice of priority. It was a noble cause, and a righteous fight that could benefit countless lives. He shouldn’t feel upset at Shiro for wanting to be a part of that, but he did. Not only that, but the mission was the only thing that was on his mind. His disease had been one of several factors that resulted in their breakup over a year ago, and now it was rendered a moot point. Yet, Shiro didn’t have one single thought directed at Adam in the wake of this revelation. It’s not like it should bother him. They weren’t a couple anymore. Shiro had no obligation to consider Adam’s feelings in all this. So did why it hurt so much that he didn’t?

Shiro seemed to notice the resignation in his voice, his smile faltering as he reached out towards him, “Adam, I…”

Adam cut him off, not wanting to hear whatever heartfelt thing Shiro was going to say, “I want to run more tests on your arm when we have the time. And I want to continue to monitor your condition. We don’t know if these effects are permanent or not, or if this arm is affecting you in any other way. I’d prefer to stay cautious.”

Shiro faltered, dropping his hand to his side to rest on the bench, “Right. Better to be safe,” he looked down, feeling a little guilty at his own exuberance. He shouldn’t have been so overtly excited without considering there might be a drawback.

Adam looked over to see the wounded expression on his face, and he sighed. _He’s like a damn puppy_ , “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put a damper on things.”

Damn it. Why did Adam have to feel such devotion to someone that didn’t even reciprocate those deeper feelings anymore? Better question, why did he have to fall in love with such an idiot!?

“No, you’re right,” Shiro assured him, “We should be thorough. Still, the idea of having more time. It’s amazing.”

“There is a potential catch though.” Adam spoke reluctantly. After taking a moment to reexamine his bloodwork, Adam realized something that he wasn’t too thrilled to be sharing, “Your cells are regenerating faster than your disease is causing them to degenerate, so your body is working overtime to keep itself healthy.”

“But I don’t feel any different. Shouldn’t I be worn out if my body is pushing itself like that?”

Adam shook his head, “Maybe at first, but you likely adapted to the changes to your body over time. Still though, that doesn’t mean you aren’t still vulnerable. If you sustain any serious injury, it could put a huge strain on your body, more than it can take. Without medical treatment, you could slip into a coma… or worse.”

Shiro sighed, letting that information settle for a minute before finally saying, “So, try not to die and treat any wounds I get. Sounds pretty simple. Good thing I got a doctor on hand.” He spoke offhandedly, trying to lighten the news with his classic dark humor.

Adam’s brow furrowed, a little pissed off that Shiro wasn’t appreciating the gravity of the situation, “Do you even…”

“Sorry to interrupt!” Coran burst in before Adam had a chance to ream Shiro. Coran was starting to become the king of sudden entrances, “Thought you’d like to know the prisoners are about to wake up! And Number 5 is already back and ready to talk to them.”

“Thanks Coran,” Shiro nodded, watching him turn to leave.

Adam pulled off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose to alleviate the tension, “You should, uh, you should go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Shiro was apprehensive, but he knew it would be best to leave things as they were for now. Adam was clearly falling into one of his moods, and it was best to let him sort things out for himself.

“Alright,” he stood up, and exited the office to meet up with Pidge.

**VVVVVVVV**

Pidge stood in the central bay, watching the rejuvenation pods patiently for the prisoners to wake up. It was killing her, thinking they may know something about her family. She had downloaded information from the Galra ship, but it needed some time to decrypt before she could check it. But the prisoners were about to wake up any second, and she could hardly keep herself contained. After a year of searching and waiting, the answers she was looking for were finally within her grasp.

“You're as anxious as me,” Shiro said, surprising her as he entered the room. She was so on edge that his sudden appearance startled her. Coran shuffled in behind him, walking over to the monitors to check on the prisoner’s condition.

“These aliens we saved know something about my family. They have to!” Pidge stated firmly. She couldn’t accept any other reality.

“I hope so,” Shiro agreed. Personally, he had an investment in what they knew as well.

“They recognized you, didn't they?” she asked, vocalizing exactly what he was thinking, “They called you ‘Champion.’ What does that even mean?”

“I don't know. I can't remember very much from that time. But the way those guys looked at me when we freed them...” Shiro’s brow furrowed in thought, thinking back to how quickly he dispatched those robotic soldiers. He destroyed them so easily. Brutally. And he didn’t even realize they were robots until after. it troubled him, “I don't know if I want to find out.”

With a sudden hiss, their conversation ended. The rejuvenation pods began to open, and the prisoners gasped, waking up from their long rest.

**VVVVVVVV**

Adam walked through the main hall of the castle toward where the Galra prisoners were being kept. His mind was filled with thoughts over his conversation with Shiro. He was about to say something to Adam before Coran interrupted him, and he couldn’t help wondering what it was. Should he even care though? He loved Shiro, but it seemed like he was always going to come second to whatever ambitions Shiro held in his heart. Just like before.

They had both been so selfish back then. Shiro left Adam behind to go to space, and Adam forced him to choose between his dream and their relationship. Adam excused his behavior by rationalizing it as a way to protect the person he loved most. But that didn’t make it right. The situation back then had reflected the tragedy of Adam’s past all too closely, and it scared the hell out of him. His only way of coping was to offer an ultimatum that ended up pushing Shiro away. And Shiro just left without a second thought. He chose to leave Adam behind, and it resulted in all of this. That moron. Even when Adam conceded to let him go, begging him to come back safe, he managed to fuck that up too! _Calm down Adam. You already had that conversation._

Adam’s thoughts were in flux. On one hand, he blamed Shiro for running off and leaving him behind, placing a higher value on his personal goals than the person he claimed to love. But on the other hand, Adam had been acting cold and irrational at that time, probably pushing Shiro away in the first place when he didn’t need to. There were so many layers to this argument, with no one particular cause or person at fault, and it pissed Adam off! It would be so much easier to just blame Shiro for everything. It was a good way to relieve stress after all. And while he would have liked to do that, he couldn’t in good conscience believe it. If anything, he probably blamed himself more, since his ultimatum was the breaking point for everything that happened.

Despite himself, he cared about Shiro very deeply, for multiple reasons that weren’t all necessarily romantic. And while he may have secretly yearned for something more than this complacent friendship they found themselves in, he couldn’t allow himself to have that. Things were way too complicated between them now. Both of them having gone through various changes and trauma in the year they were apart. And the biggest obstacle of all was that Adam still had no idea how Shiro really felt about him now. Did he still value the mission over Adam, or had that changed? Based on their conversation in the medical bay, it didn’t seem likely. But what were Adam’s feelings compared to a mission that could save the whole universe? Probably not much. It’s not like he thought he was insignificant to Shiro, he just knew that he wasn’t the most important thing on his mind.

Still, it didn’t stop Adam from pondering what Shiro might’ve wanted to say to him. And it hurt any less when Shiro had failed to spare Adam a thought upon hearing he had more time to live his life without worrying about his disease. It was all so frustrating. He wished he could just let it all go. Contemplating his emotions over and over again while trying to figure out what he wanted, it was starting to give him a headache.

All this weighed heavily on his mind as he made his way down the stairs toward the central bay. As he passed by the grand hall where they had first entered the castle, Adam saw Allura and the other paladins gathered by the castle doors. Curious, he walked over to them to see what they were up to.

Seeing him approach, Allura walked up to him happily, “Adam, the paladins and I are going to visit a local Arusian village. Would you like to come with us?”

“Wait, Arusians?” Adam asked perplexed. There were other lifeforms on this planet? He had just assumed it was isolated and desolate. There was foliage and water here, sure, but he didn’t think there were any aliens around sophisticated enough to have villages.

“Yes, a species indigenous to this island. After you and Shiro departed from the training floor, one of them approached the castle this morning,” she explained.

Lance jumped into the conversation excitedly, “Yeah, all the blasting and flying drew their attention, so they want to see us!”

“For what, to tell us to keep the noise down?” Adam joked.

“I’m actually not quite sure,” Allura contemplated, taking his comment seriously.

“That’s just an Earth joke Allura,” Adam explained, shaking his hand to urge her to not to think about it too much.

“Oh, I see,” she said, feeling a little foolish at her mistake.

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her, “You guys all go ahead. I want to check on the Galra prisoners with Shiro and Pidge.”

Allura nodded, “Very well. We will return shortly once we learn what the local Arusians have to say. Coran will be in charge while I am away.”

“Take care,” Adam waved them off as they departed, turning to meet up with Shiro and Pidge.

That’s right. There were bigger issues here than just his personal feelings. He had resigned himself to looking after Shiro and the others, and that’s what he needed to focus on. He made his choice, and it brought him here. What mattered now was seeing where this path would take him. Adam steeled his resolve and moved forward, leaving his troubled thoughts behind.

**VVVVVVVV**

As Adam entered the lounge on his way to the central bay, he saw the Galra prisoners had been brought here to rest. There were seated on the couches, and some had blankets thrown over their bodies. Coran was bringing in drinks for them as Pidge and Shiro sat across from them, talking to the old man they had told them all about. Adam leaned against the wall, wanting to hear what he had to say without intruding on their space.

“So, how long were you held captive by Zarkon?” Pidge asked. This conversation must have just started based on her question.

“Some for years. Decades, maybe. It's hard to tell. Time becomes a blur,” he spoke wearily. Even after the time spent in the healing pods, they must have still been weak from their incarceration. There was no telling what kind of burden that would place on a person.

“Then you must have been there when my dad and brother arrived. Sam and Matt Holt?” Pidge pressed. She was desperate for answers, and it left her with no subtlety.

The old man nodded, “I never knew their names, but I certainly remember the other two Earthlings that arrived with the Champion,” he gestured to Shiro as he spoke.

Shiro shifted a little uncomfortably, something about the word registering deep in his mind that he couldn’t recall, “Why do you keep calling me that?”

The old man was stunned, “You really don't remember? Unbelievable! You were a legendary gladiator, undefeated in the ring. You defeated an infamous Galra gladiator known as Myzax. That was the day you earned the name ‘Champion.’ I was there, as was the young Earthling.”

So that was it! That’s why Shiro knew how to fight with his Galran arm. It’s probably why he was given one in the first place. Shiro was a gifted soldier and an expert in combat, and the Galra probably didn’t want to lose such a valuable fighter and source of entertainment to a human disease.

“Matt!” Pigde’s chest tightened with anticipation at the mention of another Earthling.

The old man went on, “We were all prisoners, forced to fight for the entertainment of Zarkon. That day, we were set to fight Myzax, a vile beast many thought could never be defeated. Slaughter awaited us all. This ‘Matt’ was the first of us sent to fight, but fate had other plans,” he looked at Shiro intently, his expression serious, “You were so thirsty for blood, you injured your fellow Earthling.”

Shocked, Pidge stood up and turned to Shiro, her face riddled with anger, “You attacked my brother? Why?!”

Shiro looked horrified at the accusation, like his whole world had just come crashing down, “No, it can't be true. There's got to be more to the story. I… I couldn't have hurt my friend.”

Shiro was a noble person. He must have done it for some reason. Being heartless or bloodthirsty just wasn’t in his nature. Adam moved over to Pidge, wanting to tell her to ease off. He placed his hand on her shoulder, which she immediately swatted away.

Not wanting to waste time on Shiro, she turned back to the prisoners, “After my brother was injured, where was he taken?”

“I know not,” the old man said.

Frustrated and angry, Pidge looked down at Shiro again, “Why would you hurt my brother? You were friends, weren’t you?”

“I was there. We all were,” the old man asserted, offering the answers they needed, “When this ‘Matt’ was chosen to go first, you attacked him. Your bloodthirst was evident, but you whispered something to him as you were pulled away into the ring.”

“I… I did it to save him,” Shiro said, his eyes glazing over slightly. The intensity of this situation must have triggered his memory.

Adam was thinking the same thing just as Shiro said it too. It was very much like him to be self-sacrificing. And if the Galra were watching prisoners fight for sport, there would be no entertainment in seeing an injured boy get immediately cut down. It was amazingly genius quick thinking really.

“What?” Pidge was bewildered.

Shiro sat up, more confident in himself as he talked his way memory, “My memory of the event came back. Your dad was being sent off with the weaker prisoners to a work camp. Meanwhile, Matt and I were forced to fight in the gladiator ring. Matt was going to fight first, but he was scared. We all were. I injured him so he wouldn’t have to fight.”

“You saved him. You attacked him so they would choose you instead,” Pidge said aloud, letting the information sink in before she reacted, jumping toward Shiro and hugging him, “I'm so sorry I doubted you! Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Shiro gently embraced her, resting his hand on her shoulder due to their height difference, “I can tell you really miss them. I know they miss you, too. Your brother and father would be proud of you, Katie.”

Pidge gasped, stepping back from Shiro and looking at him with surprise.

“I remember, your brother talked about you a lot. He never said anything about a little brother before, but he used to gush over his little sister,” he smiled at her, “Don't worry, your secret's safe with us.”

Adam nodded at her when she looked over at him for assurance. There must have been an interesting story behind why Pidge needing to fake her identity. What’s more, she faked her records well enough to get enrolled in the Garrison as a legitimate student. It was truly impressive. But that was a story that would have to wait for another time.

**VVVVVVVV**

Once the prisoners had told them all they could, and Shiro and Pidge made amends, Coran guided them to a shuttle ship in their hangar bay. Pidge left to check on the data she had retrieved, while Adam and Shiro went to go see the prisoners off. Coran and Shiro offered to let them stay, but the prisoners had their own families and loved ones to find. And while they may have been captured, and some of their home planets conquered, there were refuge planets that they wanted to find. No one could exactly argue with that. While they may have been safer staying in the castle, they deserved the chance to make their own choices and find they people they cared about most.

As they gathered onto the shuttle with some supplies and food, the old man once again turned to them, “Thank you all for everything. We never dreamed we'd see our families again. But you gave us hope. You give the universe hope.”

They bowed in appreciation as the shuttle closed. Seeing them off felt rewarding in a way. Adam couldn’t deny that he liked the way it made him feel, giving people a second chance. Or, aliens in this case. Either way, it was nice to give them the chance to find their families.

After the prisoners departed, they all walked out into the grand hall to a rather strange sight. Allura and the other paladins had returned, but with a herd of small ram-horned aliens in tow. They were rather short, only going up to the paladins’ knees in height. Adam might have mistaken them for animals had it not been for their bipedal movements and the clothes they wore. These must have been the Arusians that Allura was talking about earlier.

They went down to greet them, stepping carefully so as not to kick or step on any of the alien villagers. Allura told them that the Arusians had actually heard of Voltron and worshipped it almost like a god. It took a little convincing from Allura to set them straight on that matter, but they still revered the paladins as divine warriors. When she informed them that they would be leaving the planet soon, they insisted on throwing a giant celebration.

Delighted at the prospect of an alien banquet, they all worked together to set up tables and carry in food that the Arusians were bringing over. Not too long after, there was a huge congregation of them partying in the grand hall. Keith and Hunk were posted next to the buffet table, eating a variety of small multi-colored foods. It was a fascinating sight to see Keith getting on so well with the others. He was usually a recluse, but he was engaging in light conversation with passing Arusians and chatting happily with Hunk. Although to be fair, Hunk was the most emotionally expressive and vulnerable of the group, so maybe Keith felt more at ease around him. Despite their tension, Adam thought it was kinda nice to see Keith laughing for once.

Lance was busy showing off for the Arusians, swinging his bayard around and striking unnecessary poses. He definitely had a deep-seated need for approval, or an inflated ego that he needed to appease on a consistent basis. But considering how hard he took Keith’s initial indifference towards him, it was likely the former. And these Arusians provided the perfect audience to satisfy his need for attention. Still, it was nice to see him having a good time as well. Allura was perched on the balcony, watching over the paladins as they mingled and enjoyed themselves. Coran had been pulled away by Pidge some time ago, but their absence was hardly noticeable due to all the hustle and bustle.

And as for Shiro, he was busy playing with a group of what Adam were assumed were Arusian children. They were smaller than the others and they were climbing on him while they laughed and giggled. With such a large body frame, he was like a human jungle gym for the kids to climb all over. Adam watched from the balcony, taking delight in watching Shiro bumble around as he tried to placate all the little ones. He was so cute, doing his absolute best to keep the kids entertained. He may have been a dedicated soldier, but he was also a sweet man, with a kind face to go with it.

Adam shook his head. Damn it. He was totally just fawning over Shiro. He needed to remind himself of the complications in their relationship. He shouldn’t swoon over him so easily.

Before Adam had a chance to contemplate that any further, Pidge came out into the grand hall and collected Shiro. She looked serious, as if there was something she wanted to share. Noticing that Shiro was being pulled away, both Hunk and Keith followed after them. Pidge also collected Allura, and Adam followed suit, needing to know what was going on. He looked down at Lance to signal him to stay with the Arusians, but saw that Coran had already joined him. They were loud and vivacious enough to make up for the loss of the others, so they had some time before their absence was noticed. Adam left them to entertain the guests, following after the others to see what Pidge had to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so long, I had to split it in half. I hope Adam and Shiro's relationship came out okay. I was literally killing myself over this. I didn't want the cause of their breakup to be solely blamed on either of them alone. There are so many theories and interpretations of the breakup, I wanted them both to be at fault. But I also wanted them to carry their own guilt over it, while Adam still held a grudge against Shiro for leaving. It's a very complex dynamic, and while it's frustrating, it can only help me improve as a writer.


	8. Fall of the Castle of Lions Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feeling insignificant, Adam must come through on his promise to protect others when the castle is attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who have read my other works, this chapter may seem very familiar to you. This is a revision of my story "A Broken Soul" so that it better fits in with the narrative I built. This was the first chapter I ever wrote in relation to this AU, and it inspired me to start this story in the first place.

As they all gathered in the hangar bay, Pidge stood next to a shuttle pod that looked like it had just been prepped for departure. With all their questioning eyes, she began to explain her situation, and the lead she had on her family.

“The download from the Galra ship was enough to get me in the right direction to start my search. I have definite leads to go on now, and I’m going to find my family. I have a pod all ready to go,” Pidge said, determined to set out on her own.

“You can't leave,” Keith said, the irritation evident in his voice.

Pidge turned to him, not appreciating his aggressive tone, “You can't tell me what to do.”

That just seemed to spurn Keith on more, “If you leave, we can't form Voltron. And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families!”

Adam eyed Keith curiously. It was a strange statement for Keith to make considering everything Adam knew about him. Keith didn’t have anyone except for the mentorship he got from Shiro. His father had passed away years ago, and as far as Adam knew his mother was a mystery. Keith didn’t really make friends easily either. Maybe he thought this group of oddballs was a chance at forming bonds with people that couldn’t leave or turn their backs on him. It would explain why he was getting so angry.

Hunk chimed in awkwardly, increasing the tension “Yeah, I have a family. They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that, like, a thing that can happen?”

Allura spoke up, clearly disheartened by the course this conversation was taking, “You want to leave, too?”

“Of course I do!” Hunk replied honestly, “Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space, fighting aliens.”

“Seconded,” Adam chimed in, voicing his distaste for their current situation.

“No one asked you to come Adam!” Keith shouted. Adam shouldn’t have been surprised that he was the one that Keith snapped at. In fact, it was pretty much warranted, “You gave up a long time ago. And now Pidge is putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone else in the entire galaxy!”

Keith’s words were biting, but they weren’t untrue. It was strange that he wasn’t more supportive of her cause though. He had been so resolute when it came to saving Shiro’s life, someone that was incredibly important to him; but he wasn’t very tolerant of Pidge wanting to do the same for her family. Although, the only stakes involved in his case was Shiro’s own safety. His choices didn’t affect the lives of others or put them at risk. If anything, he seemed to have the same values as Shiro did, valuing the majority over the individual.

“Keith, that's not how a team works,” Shiro finally stepped in. Keith immediately backed down upon hearing his stern tone, “People have to want to be a part of it. They can't be forced,” Shiro turned to Pidge, switching to a more gentle voice, “If you want to leave, we won't try to stop you. But, please, just think about what you're doing.”

Pidge looked down, a little more somber upon hearing the pleading in Shiro’s voice. She knew he supported her and wanted to help, but this was a chance she couldn’t pass on. Adam taught her that, “I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion,” she walked out of the hangar bay to pack, Hunk following after her. Allura turned to head back out to the banquet, devastated that the team she was putting her faith in didn’t even want to be here. Keith huffed, following after her into the hall, leaving Adam and Shiro alone.

Shiro took a deep breath, stressed out by this turn of events. Adam leaned against the shuttle, watching him curiously, “That was an interesting perspective Takashi.”

“What is?” Shiro asked, turning to face him and not bothering to comment on how Adam had addressed him.

Adam crossed his arms, “Asking her to think about not leaving. Seems kind of hypocritical coming from you.”

Shiro sighed. So that’s where this was heading. It was the conversation they had been ignoring, but it was bound to come up sooner or later, “I know what you’re getting at Adam, and that’s not fair. I did think about it.”

“Right,” he said, remembering the moment when Shiro had told him as much, “But you still went anyway.”

“I did. It’s what I wanted. It’s what I needed,” Shiro told him. The use of the word ‘need’ was an interesting choice. He made it sound like he was accomplishing something just by leaving, like he needed to get away from Adam. But that wasn’t the whole truth.

“And I’m the villain for trying to make you stay?” Adam asked, expressing one of his greatest concerns.

Shiro looked up at him, genuinely shocked by the question, “I never said that. I never thought that,” Shiro declared steadfast. Adam was surprised by how fervently Shiro spoke. All this time, he couldn’t help but think that Shiro resented him for placing the burden of choice on him. He had blamed Shiro for for leaving in the first place, and he had expected Shiro to do the same to him. Adam had let his own insecurities push him to make a terribly selfish choice to force Shiro to stay after all.

“I was just trying to protect you back then,” Adam said, feeling like he still needed to defend his motivations. Even if Shiro didn’t hold a grudge against him, he still held one against himself. There had to have been a better way to look out for Shiro back then. Even with good intentions, he went about it the wrong way.

“I don’t need you to protect me Adam,” Shiro said, slightly exasperated. It was exactly what he had said a year ago, and so many times before that. All Adam had ever wanted to do was look out for him. But Shiro seemed to have an innate desire to push harder and harder, all while refusing to accept his help.

“Why won’t you let me?” Adam spoke, his voice almost cracking under the weight of all those memories, and the pain that came with them.

Shiro saw the melancholy in Adam’s face and turned his head away, unable to look at him, “Things are different now Adam. There’s so much more at stake here than my safety. Things more important than you or me,” Shiro hardened his resolve, trying not to betray his feelings.

That’s what Adam had told himself moments ago, yet here they were, having this conversation again. It just seemed inevitable. And it proved that Shiro not only held the mission in higher regard than his opinion of Adam, but he also held it higher than his own life. It was a way of thinking any good soldier would have, and Shiro was a great soldier. What an Idiot.

Adam moved forward and walked past him, stopping at Shiro’s side to speak to him and spare him the pain of seeing Adam’s wounded expression, “Do you regret it?.... Leaving Earth?”

It was a strange question to ask, but he felt like he might glean more from this answer instead of circling around the same questions over and over.

Shiro stood in place, feeling Adam’s presence next to him like a wave of heat. He spoke softly, “I’m not sure. All the good that has come out of it, I’m not sure it outweighs the bad…. The regrets.”

“Am I one of those regrets?” he asked, almost hopeful for what his answer would be. _Or am I the good?_

Shiro turned toward Adam, their faces only a small distance apart as he looked deep in his eyes, “You gave me a choice Adam, and I chose,” he answered, sidestepping the question.

Adam felt the weight of those words crash down on his heart, confirming what he had feared for the past few days. Or rather, what he had known since that day over a year ago. Shiro made the selfish choice to leave, but only because Adam was too scared and insecure to let him go in the first place. Shiro probably felt smothered under him, and by coolly offering him the chance to leave, he only made it easier for Shiro to pack his bags and go. Adam took a shaky breath, ready to walk away, “Yeah, you did. So, I guess in the end, that’s my fault.”

He felt the cool metal of Shiro’s arm grab his hand, keeping him from leaving, “Adam I…”

“You don’t have to say anything Takashi,” Adam cut in, not willing to turn around or let him finish a sentence that would break his heart even more, “I wasn’t fair to you back then. I shouldn’t have tried to control. I was angry, but it’s my fault our relationship ended.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for any….” Shiro tried to say. If anyone knew the motivations behind Adam’s actions, it was Shiro. He was the one person Adam felt like he could confide in; and right now, that felt like a huge mistake. He was going to be supportive and understanding, just like he always was. And that wasn’t something Adam couldn’t handle right now.

He cut back in, not giving Shiro a chance to finish, “I know it was wrong to make you choose, but at the end of the day, I still wasn’t your choice,” he pulled his hand free from Shiro’s grip with ease, his fingers sliding out and his hand falling loosely to his side as he made his way towards the door.

“So, are you going to leave?” Shiro asked, afraid that he might lose one of the people closest to him.

He walked away from Adam a long time ago, but that didn’t mean he wanted to. In a way, Shiro felt like he had too. He didn’t want to waste away and become a burden that Adam would have to put up with the for the rest of his life. He deserved better than that, but that was the inevitable direction his life had been headed. So, when Adam offered him the ultimatum, Shiro went down the path that he hoped would spare him the most pain. In a way, he did it for both himself and for Adam. But if Adam hadn’t offered him the chance, he never would have been strong enough to breakup with him on his own. So in a roundabout way, it was Adam’s fault their relationship ended. But Shiro was the one to pull the trigger. Maybe now it was Adam’s turn to walk away?

If anything, Shiro was the one who should be carrying the most guilt. He convinced himself he was doing it to protect Adam by leaving, but that didn’t make it right. Adam was blaming himself so much for what happened between them, but Shiro felt like it was his own fault. Deep in his heart, he knew he was just too proud and scared to let Adam see him wither away into a pathetic mess. He wanted his lover to remember him fondly, instead of having to suffer through the years of care that Shiro would require. And in the pursuit of his own self-interest, he had caused all of this. He had broken Adam’s heart, got captured, and started this whole mess that was now burdening them all. He really was an idiot, just like Adam always said.

But he couldn’t tell him any of this. If he did, Adam might hate Shiro even more, or worse, he might forgive him. And he didn’t feel like he deserved Adam’s forgiveness. After all the pain he caused, he needed to atone for what he’d done. Saving the universe and protecting the lives of others at the potential cost of his own, it was the perfect shot at redemption. That needed to be his focus now. And while all he really wanted was to reconcile with Adam, and feel the warmth of his love again, he couldn’t justify earning back that love. He would just have to settle for their complacent friendship, knowing they both meant a lot to each other, but never being able to be together.

Adam stopped at the door as he answered Shiro’s question, “I’m not going anywhere Takashi. I may not have signed up for this fight, but I I’m not leaving you. I have nowhere else to go,” he paused and rested his hand on the door before finally saying, “I’m sorry.” He pressed the panel next to the door to open it and left.

Shiro felt like his heart had been ripped into pieces, the internal conflict threating to bring tears to his eyes, “Don’t be. I was selfish too.”

**VVVVVVVV**

As Adam walked back into the hall, and the door sealed behind him, a voice making him pause, “That was surprising.”

Adam looked over his shoulder to see Keith leaning against the door frame. He felt a twinge of irritation, not appreciating that someone had decided to eavesdrop on such an intimate conversation, “You were listening to us?”

“Never thought I’d hear you admit to being wrong. Especially not to Shiro,” Keith spoke, ignoring the question and coming to stand in front of him. Keith wasn’t giving off much emotion like usual, but it was clear from his stance that he wanted to confront Adam.

“Just leave me alone Keith,” Adam declared, pushing past him to leave.

“What did you mean, about not having anywhere to go?” Keith called out after him.

Adam stopped dead in his tracks. Had he asked any other question, Adam would have just ignored it and kept walking. But this was a loaded question. One that was personal in a way that only Keith would ever understand. Adam turned to face Keith properly, residing to answer him, “Just what I said. I don’t have any family left to go back to, and I hated being at the Garrison. Even the friends I’ve made there would be better off without me. I have no reason to go back.”

Keith was stunned by how bluntly Adam admitted his feelings. His stance became more relaxed, unfolding his arms as he asked his next question, “So why where you even there?”

“I enrolled in the Garrison for personal reasons. I guess you could say I was trying to atone for something in my past. I hated it, but as luck would have it, I turned out to be a prodigy. In fact, it was one of the things I used to think you and I had in common.”

Keith was hesitant. Given their history, it was hard to think he and Adam had anything in common. But they didn’t talk much before this, and Adam’s story did sound similar to his. They had no family to speak of, and Keith wasn’t exactly receptive of Garrison authority either. Not only that, but Shiro was the most important person in their collective lives, “I suppose so,” Keith conceded, accepting Adam’s compliment.

Adam watched as Keith’s body language became more uncertain, as if he was feeling guilty over pressuring Adam into this conversation. If only Shiro were so easy to read.

“What Takashi said about needing to _want_ to be part of a team, it’s not exactly true,” Keith looked up at him confused, “I never wanted to be in the Garrison, but I felt like it was something I had to do. I don’t want to be part of this ancient alien war, but I can’t just go back home and ignore it either,” Adam turned his head to look back at the direction of the hangar door, “Pidge is lucky. Having family to search for, it’s better than what some of us still have.”

Keith couldn’t deny that, even if it was selfish on her part, but the reason Adam was staying sounded so… empty, “So, you’re here because you’ve got nothing else better to do, is that it?” Keith asked, not entirely understanding what Adam was trying to convey.

“Not exactly,” Adam shrugged, “More or less, I’m here for Shiro. Even though we’re not together anymore, he’s all I really have left.”

Keith shifted uncomfortably. Adam figured his feelings for Shiro was something Keith could easily relate to. Man, this kid was really bad at hiding his emotions.

“He’s a different person now,” Keith spoke firmly, as if he was defending Shiro’s character somehow, “You don’t need to protect him.”

Adam smirked, hiding the all too familiar pain those words entailed, “Strange sentiment coming from someone who always tries save him.”

Keith didn’t appreciate how Adam was coming off as condescending, speaking up with more vigor than before, “I’m just looking out for the people I care about. He doesn’t need…”

“I know,” Adam cut him off, completely serious. He didn’t need to hear it again, “Believe me, I know. If I’m being honest… I’m envious.”

“Envious?” Keith asked, more confused than ever before. What could he possibly envy? Adam had always been the closest one to Shiro before the Kerberos mission. How could Adam possibly envy him when he had Shiro all to himself for years before Keith had even met him? All the time they had spent together, he no doubt knew more about Shiro than Keith ever would. His own relationship with him couldn’t compare with that. It didn’t make sense.

Adam laughed, but it wasn’t a genuine one, “We care about Takashi in different ways Keith, let’s just leave it at that.”

Before Adam moved to leave, Keith asked one final question, “Are you still in love with him?”

Adam froze, unsure of how to respond. It was true he still had strong feelings for Shiro, but did that count as love anymore? Especially after everything he knew now. Everything between them was in the past. Shiro was a new person, and he had left Adam behind along with his previous life. Even if Shiro forgave him, that didn’t mean there was hope to rekindle the fizzled out flame of their love. No doubt his feelings toward him would have lessened in the year they were apart as well. So even if he had feelings for Shiro, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be here for him no matter what, but he doesn’t need me to be. He’s got you, Voltron, and the rest of the team. In the end, I’m not that important to him.”

Adam walked away, the sentiment of his heartbreak hanging in the air.

**VVVVVVVV**

Adam stood in the control room of the castle, looking at all the stars and planets on the holographic star map.

“Mind if I join you?” Coran asked as he walked onto the deck. He must have been taking a break from the Arusian banquet.

“Oh, hey Coran,” Adam greeted politely, “Do you happen to know where Earth is?” he asked, gazing at all the stars and planets.

“Let's take a look,” Coran said. He walked over to the control panel, bringing Earth to the center of the projection, “Earth is over here. And we're all... the way over...” he dragged on as he scrolled the map across the universe farther and farther away.

“You ever notice how far away the planets are from each other, Coran?” Adam asked, feeling very contemplative after the emotionally heavy conversations he just had.

“Yes. Haven't you been paying attention?” Coran said, taking Adam’s question a little too literally.

“Yeah, but I mean they're _really_ far away. Like, say, Earth. It's so far, I can't even see it. The blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass... I can't see any of it.”

“You miss Earth. I understand. I miss Altea,” Coran said, understanding the somber and nostalgic feeling of a home that was suddenly taken away.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say,” Adam shook his head, “It just seems the further you are away from something, the harder it is to understand. You overlook all the tiny details and miss the things that have changed. All these planets, with so much space between them, can they ever really understand each other? How could they ever come to understand the changes that each one goes through over time if they’re not there to see it? Maybe they’re not meant to. Maybe they’re all just meant to be….alone.”

Coran seemed to get what Adam was trying to say with his less than vague planet metaphor, but he chose not to comment on it. It was obvious right away that Adam was a guarded person, hiding his real emotions behind a veil of aggression, humor, and sarcastic judgements. Most of which had been directed toward Shiro from the moment they arrived.

“Well planets don’t have any consciousness to understand or contemplate with” Coran commented, choosing to go with a more passive route and act like he didn’t understand Adam’s metaphor. He didn’t want to say anything that might set him off or discourage him from opening up, “Well, most of them don’t anyway.”

Adam sighed, “Yeah, I’ll take your word on that,” he turned around and made his way toward the main hall. He was tired of all these deep conversations, and just wanted to forget them, “I’m going to head back out to the party. Maybe the Arusians have some kind of liquor I can get drunk on.”

“Alright, just be sure not to drink the green stuff.” Coran warned as he started messing around with the panel controls underneath the main power crystal.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Adam replied. As he made his way toward the door Pidge’s small floating Galra bot floated into the room past him, “Hey Rover,” he said casually. It was kinda funny how Pidge was able to make a literal friend out of an enemy’s tech. The thing pretty much never left her side for anything. It was like a robotic lapdog, following her around wherever she went. Adam stopped as the realization hit him, “Wait… where’s Pidge?” He turned to see the small bot starting to glow red, charging up to explode. It was headed straight toward the crystal at the center of the room, right next to where Coran was standing.

“Coran look out!” Adam ran forward, jumping on Coran to shield him from the blast as the bot exploded, the brunt of the force hitting Adam in the back and causing him to pass out.

**VVVVVVVV**

The first thing Adam knew was pain. Pain all along his back and body. He could feel his body pressed against someone’s back, like he was being carried, but he was still too delirious to open his eyes and see who it was.

“Hang on Adam. Help is on the way,” the voice said.

Keith? It sounded like him. And the person carrying him had a smaller frame, so it couldn’t be Hunk or Shiro. And there was no way Pidge could carry him. It could have been Lance, but Adam didn’t feel the voice matched.

“Damn,” he heard Keith say. Adam felt himself being let down, placed in a slouching position against the wall. Adam slowly began to regain more of his faculties, the rush of pain in his back from being set down making him more alert. He opened his eyes to see a blurry figure walk away from him, toward a large shadow in the distance. If it wasn’t for the red paladin armor he wasn’t sure if he would be able to recognize Keith.

Adam pushed himself up a bit, reaching up to fix his glasses. Crap. They were gone. He must have lost them when he got hit. Luckily his vision wasn’t that bad. It just made things a little blurry, but he could still see well enough. He looked back up, seeing Keith approach someone. It looked like a large Galran soldier. He was massive, and he had a floating claw arm where his left forearm used to be. Wait. It was Sendak! How the hell did he survive?

“Stand aside,” Sendak ordered, expecting Keith to bow down at his mere presence.

“No. You’re not getting in,” Keith declared, drawing his bayard.

“Yes I am,” Sendak increased his speed until he was charging at Keith. Sendak brought his large claw arm crashing down to where Keith stood. Keith dived forward under it, jumping up out of the way as Sendak spun around to swipe his claw in a circle on the ground. Keith ran toward him, bringing his blade swinging down, which was easily blocked by Sendak bringing his claw up over his head. He took the opportunity to punch Keith in the gut with his normal arm, sending him reeling back.

Keith staggered before charged again, delivering a series of quick slashes and cuts, each one blocked by Sendak’s mechanical arm. Sparks shot off of it as Keith struck it with his sword. He rolled to the side when Sendak tried to get in a kick. For someone of his size, Sendak was incredibly agile. Keith stepped back to look for an opening, but Sendak merely reached out, shooting his claw arm forward to close the distance between them. He grabbed Keith by his arms, dragging him back towards him. He should have known his arm could do that. After all, it wasn’t technically connected to his body or anything physical. It just looked like there was a mass of energy keeping the claw connected to the mechanical portion of his arm.

Sendak dropped Keith at his feet, lifting his arm up to smash him into the ground. Keith barely had enough time to roll backwards and dodge the hit. He was about ready to go in for another attack when something ran by him from behind. He turned his head to see Adam running at Sendak, his weapon in hand.

“Adam, stop! What are you doing!?” Keith called out to him, knowing he was in no condition to fight right now after being caught in an explosion. Adam just ignored him, both hands tight on his halberd.

Adam spun on his heels as he reached Sendak, adding force to his attack as he swung the bladed end at him. However, this was quickly caught by Sendak’s claw, stopping him in his tracks. Sendak’s claw tightened around his weapon, pulling it back and throwing Adam across the room along with it. He then turned his attention back to Keith, apparently not interested in Adam’s efforts.

As Keith braced himself for another onslaught he heard Adam roar as he came charging up behind Sendak once again. Sendak turned back to him, amused by his stubbornness.

“You’re hurt, get back!” Keith cried out. There was no way Adam would have the focus to put up a good fight after just coming out of unconsciousness. Why was he doing this?

Adam thrusted his weapon forward, going for a stabbing motion this time, which Sendak deflected by smacking the front end away from him. Adam used the momentum to bring the back end of the staff up and smack him in the face.

“I have to beat him!” Adam yelled in response to Keith’s plea. He spun back around, thrusting the spear forward once more towards Sendak’s chest, hoping to get in a killing strike while he was momentarily distracted by that first hit. Sendak was too fast though, slamming Adam’s weapon down toward the ground with his claw. Adam still pushed it forward between Sendak’s feet, turning it in his hands and pulling back to snag one of Sendak’s legs with the hook end of his halberd. It managed to trip him up slightly, causing him to stumble backwards. Adam then stabbed the tip of his halberd into the ground, launching himself forward on it to deliver a powerful kick to his enemy’s chest.

Keith stood there, watching in awe as Adam put up a valiant fight. Even after being severely weakened, his fighting technique was well practiced and unyielding. Keith braced himself, charging back into the fight. He was allowing himself to be distracted. He couldn’t just let Adam face this guy alone, especially not in the state he was in.

Adam swiped Sendak’s claw away with the butt of his staff, spinning around to bring the axe head crashing straight down towards Sendak’s neck, hoping to land a killing blow now that his mechanical arm wouldn’t be able to block it in time. Adam brought it down with as much force as he could, feeling his arms shake as Sendak reached up and grabbed it with his normal hand, stopping his attack short. Adam felt a wave of surprise and futility come over him. Sendak had literally been fighting him one-handed until right now. He was so focused on that giant mechanical arm, Adam didn’t even think to consider he wasn’t fighting at his full potential.

He lifted Adam up off the ground by his halberd, hitting him in the side with his claw, and sending him flying right into Keith as they fell to the floor. Lying in a heap on the ground, Adam was beginning to realize just how screwed they were. They needed a new plan if they were going to survive this. As they struggled to get up, Adam saw a bright glow coming from the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw a beam of energy being charged up in the center of Sendak’s claw right before it shot out towards them. Adam grabbed Keith and pushed him back down to the ground and out of the way. As Keith hit the floor, he saw a blast of energy hit Adam square in the chest, sending him flying back away from Keith as he cried out in pain. The blast left a burn on his armor, but it didn’t penetrate it. Adam groaned, the force of the hit, knocking the wind out of him.

“Adam!” Keith yelled out in concern, rushing over and trying to support him. Adam tried to stand up, grabbing his weapon that had fallen to the ground near him. As he tried to lift his body up he fell back down, Keith catching him and cradling Adam in his arms. He gritted his teeth, trying to sit back up once again, but Keith held him down, “Adam, why? Why won’t you stop? You’re in pain”

Adam looked up at Keith, his face twisted up in agony. But it wasn’t just physical pain. It was grief and anguish that was reflected in his eyes, “My brother…” Adam gasped out. Keith was stricken by those words. He had never heard Adam say anything about a brother before. He was sure Shiro never mentioned it either. He held Adam’s head in his lap, his voice breaking as he continued on, “My brother knew so much more pain…than I ever will. And still I….. I couldn’t do anything for him. I can’t let Shiro lose his brother too….” Adam reached up and grabbed the hand that Keith had pressed against Adam’s chest, his breathing heavy and full of regret, “I’m sorry…… I’m so sorry.”

Keith was frozen. Adam had never acted like this before. In a way, it scared him. Before Keith could respond, Sendak’s shadow loomed over them. He looked up to see the Galran towering over them, “Such a shame. You put up a valiant fight, almost like a Galra,” he said to Adam, “But to see you on the ground blubbering like a fool, you truly are as pitiful as the rest.”

Keith set Adam down, grabbing his bayard and charging up ferociously, “Aggghhh!” Keith screamed in rage. Seeing Adam in that state broke something in Keith. Something he couldn’t quite grasp. And to see this monster mocking Adam at his weakest moment was something he just couldn’t take.

He thrusted his sword forward, which Sendak sidestepped with ease. Keith then used his momentum to roll forward out of reach. He spun on his heels, swinging at Sendak’s head. His strike blocked by Sendak’s claw once again. He kicked Keith in the chest, sending him tumbling back.

Adam pushed himself up to sit on his arm, “Keith no!” He called out. If Keith kept this up, he was going to die. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Adam was supposed to save Keith, not the other way around. And now he was going to fail to protect someone again. Was this his fate? To always fail? To watch the people around him die, unable to do anything about it?

“Pathetic human!” he heard Sendak roar out as he slammed Keith to the ground. Keith rolled to the side as Sendak smashed his claws into the floor, narrowly missing his head. Keith swiped at his feet, but Sendak merely took a step back to dodge it, kicking Keith and sending him rolling away. It was obvious Keith was exhausted. Every strike he made was futile, and Sendak’s stupid claw arm gave him the tactical advantage from any distance. If Adam hadn’t been weakened by that blast earlier, maybe they might’ve been able to take him down together.

Sendak walked over to Keith, his body slumped on the ground as he reached out for his bayard. Sendak stepped on Keith’s hand, making him scream out in pain and kicking his weapon away from him. Keith looked up to see Sendak drawing his claw arm back, ready to deliver the killing blow. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable.

As he waited for the pain that would come with the impact, he heard the clang of metal against metal, causing him to open his eyes and see what had prevented Sendak from killing him. He looked up he and saw Adam on his feet, his halberd blocking Sendak’s attack as the blade was stabbed into the ground for leverage. Blood was running down his face from a head wound he must have got when he hit the floor, his teeth gritted in pain as he exerted himself.

“Adam!” Keith called out in surprise. Keith may have been doing bad, but Adam was far worse off. The fact that he was even standing right now was nothing short of extraordinary. Sendak kicked Keith in the face, sending him tumbling away and knocking him out in the process. Now his focus was entirely on Adam.

“You’re quite stubborn for a weakling,” he sneered.

Adam pulled his halberd free from the ground, reverting it back to its collapsed state in his hand.

“I’ll show you weak!” Adam rolled forward underneath him, getting behind him to make him turn away from Keith’s crumpled body. He couldn’t strike at him. None of his attacks were effective before, and they certainly wouldn’t be now. But he had to get him away from Keith. There was no way he was going to let anyone else get hurt. Sendak swung at him with his normal hand, and Adam swerved out of the way. Then he slashed at him with his claw, which is just what Adam needed. He jumped up, grabbing onto the oversized mechanical arm and letting it carry him. Sendak’s swung his arm the other way, trying to throw Adam off. At the apex of his swing, Adam let go, letting the centrifugal force launch him backwards away from both him and Keith, landing on his hands and feet as he slid backward across the floor.

Getting frustrated, Sendak charged after Adam, creating more distance between him and Keith. Perfect. Adam smiled, gripping his weapon tight. Adam jumped up as Sendak approached him, launching a punch straight at him, his bayard in hand. Sendak sidestepped Adam’s attack, his bayard breaking as it made contact with the ground. Once Adam landed, he collapsed to the floor and rolled away as far as he could, his strength gone after that last strike.

Sendak looked at Adam lying helplessly on the ground, seeming to lose interest in him, “You can’t even hit me. Have your injuries left in such a feeble state already?

Adam laughed, pushing himself up to look Sendak in the face, “I wasn’t trying to hit you,” he sneered.

Quickly understanding what he meant, Sendak looked down at his feet where the broken bayard had been left. It was glowing a bright orange color, creating a sphere of energy that was growing larger every second. “What?!” Sendak yelled out in surprise. But before he could move, the bayard exploded, creating a giant orange sphere that engulfed him completely, and pushing Adam further away with its force.

Adam looked up to see Sendak frozen within the orange sphere. It created a stasis field. He scoffed, “Damn, I was hoping it would blow up. Alright, plan B,” Adam forced himself to stand, pushing through the pain and staggering over to Keith. He grabbed him by the arm, slinging it over his shoulder and picking him up to stand with him, “Come on you moody asshole, get up.”

Keith stirred, starting to come to as he felt someone lifting him up off the ground, “Adam?”

“Come on. We have to get out of here,” Adam said, guiding them toward the exit out of the castle, “I don’t know how long that stasis field is going to last.”

“Shiro and the others went to the village,” Keith told him. Adam nodded, a new goal set in his mind. It was a little far, especially given their current states, but they just might manage to get there before Sendak gets free. Slowly they both made their way across the bridge, each of them supporting one another as they walked. Every step sent waves of pain shooting through their bodies as they struggled to get away. Once they came near the edge of the bridge, they could see the others making their way back from the village. Shiro was at the head of the pack, with Allura and Lance close behind him.

“Adam! Keith!” Shiro called out to them as he ran.

“Shiro!” Keith called back. Thank god. Having Shiro and the others meet them halfway would save a lot of time and energy, and possibly even their lives.

“Taka…” Adam started, but a loud whir made him stop. He looked back over his shoulder, seeing that Sendak had disappeared and the castle was powering back up. Shit! He was hoping that damn stasis would last a lot longer than just a few minutes. And now their enemy had access to the castle.

“Hurry! The particle barrier is closing!” Adam heard Allura yell. He looked up to see the orange dome shape of the barrier forming overhead, coming down to block the bridge in front of them and seal them inside. Shiro and the others were still too far away, there was no way they were going to get in before the barrier sealed. At this rate they were going to be separated from the others permanently, leaving him and Keith at Sendak’s mercy.

“Come on! We can make it!” Keith urged, pulling Adam forward with him. The boundary line of the bridge they needed to cross was just a few feet ahead of them, but both of them together were too slow. There was no way they were both going to make it togehter. Adam braced himself, grabbing Keith by the arm and torso, “What are you….!?” Keith started as Adam used the last of his strength to lift Keith up and throw him forward, allowing him to roll under the barrier just before it hit the ground and sealed Adam in. Adam collapsed to his knees in front it with nowhere else to go, and no energy to move.

“No!” Shiro yelled, coming up to the barrier.

Lance and Allura came up to Keith, lifting him up to check on him, “Keith! Are you alright?” Lance asked.

Shiro powered up his metal arm and punched at the barrier, sparks of purple and orange energy flying out with each strike. But it was useless. The barrier could take several blasts from a giant Galra Cruiser without breaking. Shiro wasn’t going to be able to punch a hole in it, no matter how hard he tried. He dropped to his knees in front of Adam’s, “Damn it! Adam, just hang on. We’ll get you out!” he called out to him.

“Takashi?” Adam asked. He seemed to be dazed after using the last of his strength. And the pain throughout his whole body wasn’t helping him focus either. As he looked up and found Shiro’s panicked expression face, he smiled up at him, proud of what he had accomplished by getting Keith out, “Takashi look. I saved your brot……” but his sentence was cut short as he felt the cold pierce of Sendak’s claw stab him from behind and come out the other side. He had launched his arm all the way from across the bridge, completely catching all of them off guard. Adam’s eyes went wide with shock and pain, the taste of metal on his tongue as blood sputtered out of his mouth. Unable to fully process what was happening, he fell back to the ground as the claw pulled back leaving a large open wound in his chest.

“ADAM!” He heard Shiro scream. It was a cry of pain and agony. A horrible sound he wished he would never hear. And yet, it was the last thing he recognized before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, cliffhanger! Don't worry, this story is not over. I'm just adapting things to better fit the story I have planned. If this was your first time reading this, feel free to check out my story "A Broken Soul" to see what changes I made. If you've already read it, please tell me how you like this version. Or, you can just tell me how much you enjoyed these past two chapters in general. I'd love to hear from all of you! Thank you so much to everyone still reading.


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